[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      MEDICARE'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, this Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of 
the Medicare Program's enactment into law. On July 30, 1965 President 
Lyndon Johnson traveled to Independence, MO, to sign the bill creating 
Medicare with President Harry Truman looking on. President Truman, of 
course, had proposed the creation of a national health insurance 
program in 1948. But it took 17 years of discussion and debate, several 
failed attempts in Congress, and the work of the Truman, Kennedy, and 
Johnson administrations, before the stage was set for Democrats to 
build on Social Security's successes and further guarantee security for 
our Nation's elderly and disabled citizens.
  Thirty years ago, Medicare's detractors tried to rally opponents with 
cries of socialized medicine and forecasts of Medicare's impending 
failure. Since that time, we have witnessed the positive impact that 
Medicare has had on the lives of seniors and disabled beneficiaries, as 
well as their families. Few can deny Medicare's accomplishments. By 
ensuring access to necessary and appropriate medical services, Medicare 
continues to help millions of Americans lead dignified and independent 
lives--free from worry that even a minor illness or injury could 
devastate both their personal, and their family's, financial security.
  Medicare is not a perfect health insurance program. Congress 
continues to work to control Federal health spending, and the elderly 
must still confront the ever-increasing costs of treatment for 
catastrophic illness, long-term care, and prescription drugs. However, 
today's seniors enjoy their retirement years in better health and with 
a greater sense of security than most thought possible 30 years ago.
  Ten years ago, I made a brief statement to mark Medicare's 20 year 
anniversary. In that statement, I discussed the efforts that Congress 
had made to expand benefits, improve the quality of Medicare services, 
and address the explosion of health care spending. As we all know, the 
Congress has not solved all of the health care challenges I outlined 
that day, and today the Medicare program may be facing its greatest 
test. But Mr. President, Congress is confronting Medicare's current 
fiscal challenge with a radically different spirit and attitude than it 
had in the past.
  Until recently, the Medicare debate was centered around the 
commitment to keeping our compact with America's seniors by ensuring 
Medicare's long-term solvency, while also expanding beneficiaries' 
access to services and improving the quality of care. The recent budget 
resolution's $270 billion Medicare cut--which has been disguised as a 
Medicare rescue--is actually nothing more than an attempt to extract 
the maximum amount of budget savings from the Medicare Program.
  Somehow the Medicare reform debate has become a discussion about how 
the Congress can balance the Federal budget and give tax breaks to the 
rich, instead of how our country can provide health care and security 
for the elderly and disabled. Let us put aside the political posturing 
surrounding the budget debate and sit down to figure out what is best 
for the 37 million Americans who are served by Medicare, and the 
millions more expected to join the rolls in the future.
  Mr. President, these days Americans are very cynical about their 
government. We should not confirm the public's fear that Members of 
Congress are trying to gain political advantage from Medicare's fiscal 
crises, rather we must take action to restore the public confidence 
while restoring the stability of Medicare. A generation that has given 
so much should not be burdened with higher premiums and deductibles or 
decreased benefits. Older American's financial security should not be 
sacrificed for partisan gain.
  I recognize the limits of Medicare in this time of tight budgets and 
downsizing of government, but I also believe that by working together, 
we can fulfill a pledge made three decades ago and honor our commitment 
to today's seniors, and future generations of older Americans.


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