On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law. At the bill-signing ceremony, which took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, former President Harry Truman was enrolled as Medicare’s first beneficiary and received the first Medicare card.
Johnson wanted to recognize Truman, who, in 1945, had become the first president to propose national health insurance, an initiative that was opposed at the time by Congress.
The Medicare program, providing hospital and medical insurance for Americans age 65 or older, was signed into law as an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1935. Some 19 million people enrolled in Medicare when it went into effect in 1966.
In 1972, eligibility for the program was extended to Americans under 65 with certain disabilities and people of all ages with permanent kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplant. In December 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Modernization Act, which added outpatient prescription drug benefits to Medicare.
Medicare is funded entirely by the federal government and paid for in part through payroll taxes. Medicare is currently a source of controversy due to the strain it puts on the federal budget. Throughout its history, the program also has been plagued by fraud—committed by patients, doctors and hospitals—that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people, was also signed into law by President Johnson on July 30, 1965, as an amendment to the Social Security Act.
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Current usdebtclock.org estimate of its UNFUNDED LIABILITY: $30.7 TRILLION.
Yeah, another government success.
As soon as this program went into place, every company that offered medical benefits as part of a pension plan, either dropped them completely, or figured out a way to exploit this new government “offering.” My father in law worked for Rockwell during the Apollo program. He retired with a great pension (all courtesy of the taxpayers of course). After he died, my wife helped her mom out with medical appointments, etc. Despite her still having this medical coverage, they happily let MEDICARE go to the front of the line with payments, while they handled as little as possible (and often nothing). So bad enough that the taxpayers were stolen from to fund the space fantasy program and the pensions that went with it, but then Rockwell pockets the money they set aside for the medical payments by dumping it on the taxpayers again.
Yeah, let’s add another hundred million to the Medicare roles. I see there are still plenty of open seats on the Titanic.
The whole scam was always to shift it from corporations to the gubbermint. Relieving corporations of the responsibilities they agreed to. Of course, it then goes on the backs of normal taxpayers. My advise is, be rich, or poor. Don’t be in the middle. If you are, hide as many assets as you can. When you get old and sick medicaid with claw back 10 years of assets to pay for your bills. They will strip everything from the middle class. Decide at 50 if you are going to be rich or poor. Better to hide your assents and appear poor.. Fuck you NSA!
That fuck-face signed some of the worst and most destructive legislation in American history. Fucking prick.