[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 30, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1281-E1282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               49TH ANNIVERSARY OF MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOYCE BEATTY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2014

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish Medicare and Medicaid 
a very happy 49th Anniversary!
  On this day in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Social 
Security Act into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid and the 
guarantee that a wide range of health and medical services would be 
available to millions of Americans.
  A year after declaring a war on poverty in 1954, President Johnson 
created two programs that would serve as the backbone of our Great 
Society and provide a backstop so that our fellow Americans would never 
again be left without a safety net or a helping hand.
  These programs matter, not only to their users, but to all citizens 
in our great nation.
  Medicare matters because it provides comprehensive health coverage to 
seniors and gives families peace of mind that their loved ones can 
retire with security.
  The program has provided seniors and the disabled with the quality 
health care, economic security, and the peace of mind they deserve.
  Because of Medicare, millions of Americans have been able to age with 
respect and dignity, instead of mounting medical debt and uncertainty 
regarding treatment.
  Mr. Speaker, I know firsthand how important Medicare is to seniors 
and families in America.

[[Page E1282]]

  Nearly 98 percent of older Ohioans were enrolled in Medicare in 2011, 
and nationwide more than 50 million seniors and people with 
disabilities are covered under Medicare.
  Medicaid matters because 1 in 5 Americans and 1 and 3 children 
receive health care through Medicaid. Providing preventative care and 
lifelong health assistance is not only the right, moral thing to do, it 
is also fiscally responsible.
  I look forward to continuing to work to strengthen and protect these 
programs and to ensure that the promise of health and economic security 
will be there for generations to come.

                          ____________________