[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6125-S6126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in 1965, millions of Americans and nearly 
half the country's seniors couldn't afford basic health care. But that 
began to change 50 years ago today. President Lyndon Johnson signed 
into law the Medicare program for the elderly and the Medicaid program 
for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, and people with 
disabilities.
  Although it was signed by President Johnson, it ``started with the 
man from Independence,'' . . . Harry S. Truman. In 1949, Truman became 
the first President to publically support a national health insurance 
program and sent a bill to Congress that would give health insurance to 
everyone age 65 and older. Critics called the idea ``socialized 
medicine,'' and the effort failed.
  Sixteen years later, President Johnson believed ``the times had 
caught up with the idea.'' And he was right. Today, 46 million older 
adults and 9 million people with disabilities depend on Medicare for 
health care and economic security. In Illinois, 1.9 million people are 
enrolled in Medicare.
  And because of the Affordable Care Act, the program has grown 
stronger. The Medicare Part A trust fund is now expected to be solvent 
for an additional 13 years because of the Affordable Care Act. The 
Affordable Care Act is also helping seniors with the cost of their 
prescription drugs. Since the passage of the ACA, people with Medicare 
in Illinois have saved over $554 million on prescription drugs, because 
we closed the donut hole. That is an average savings of $925 for each 
Illinois senior. The Affordable Care Act also expanded Medicare 
coverage of certain preventive services, such as mammograms or 
colonoscopies, without any cost sharing.
  Let's not forget this is also the 50th Anniversary of Medicaid. 
Medicaid has been a lifeline for millions of people, especially 
children. My friends on the other side of the aisle find it easy to 
discredit a government program, but this isn't about a program. It is 
about the people who benefit from them.
  Over 54 million people benefit from Medicaid. Before the Affordable 
Care Act, two out of three people on Medicaid were pregnant women and 
children. That is 36 million of our most vulnerable citizens. Medicaid 
also serves people with disabilities, including many low-income 
Americans with disabilities who would have nowhere else to turn.
  Before the Affordable Care Act, almost 3 million people were covered 
by Medicaid in Illinois and more than half of all births were covered 
by Medicaid. Now, anyone living below 133 percent of poverty can join 
Medicaid. That's a single person earning less than $15,654 a year, or a 
family of three bringing in $26,720. And for this population, the 
Federal Government picks up 100% of the cost. Because of the Affordable 
Care Act, more than 570,000 people in Illinois are now covered by 
Medicaid. I call that a success.
  Just ask Christopher Greenwood if this law is making a difference. 
Christopher Greenwood is a community health and prevention coordinator 
for the City of Rockford working to help people sign up for health 
insurance. He helped a 50-year-old woman enroll in Medicaid, and she 
was excited to have coverage for preventive services like a mammogram.
  According to Christopher:

     People aren't realizing the benefits of the Affordable Care 
     Act. It's all about prevention services. When we tell people 
     they need to sign up, they think they don't need it. But when 
     we start telling them the benefits, to see the looks on their 
     faces, it's all really cool.

  You know who else benefits from Medicaid? Providers, hospitals and 
doctors. Ask a provider back home: What would you prefer? Reimbursement 
by Medicaid or not be paid at all? The answer is obvious.
  Medicare and Medicaid save lives. The programs provide high quality 
health care to millions of people. Yes, we owe something to Truman for 
this idea. We owe something to Johnson for signing it into law. And 
today, we should focus on further strengthening these programs so they 
can serve future generations.

[[Page S6126]]

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, this week, we commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, programs that have made such a 
difference in the lives of so many.
  Upon signing these programs into law 50 years ago, then-President 
Lyndon Johnson reminded us of a shared tradition within our great 
Nation--one that ``calls upon us never to be indifferent toward despair 
. . . commands us never to turn away from helplessness . . . directs us 
never to ignore or to spurn those who suffer untended in a land that is 
bursting with abundance.''
  That deep-seated tradition--to lend a hand to our neighbors and 
friends and to honor our mothers and fathers--is what guided Congress 
and country to do the right thing so many years ago. With the stroke of 
his pen, President Johnson, and all those who fought before and 
alongside him, made sure that there would be care for the sick and 
serenity for the fearful.
  I know just how important Medicare and Medicaid are for the people 
who rely upon them. In the 1960s, I was a young social worker in 
Baltimore for ``Operation REASON'' (Responding to the Elderly's 
Abilities & Sickness Otherwise Neglected). Our goal was to help 
Maryland seniors get the health care they needed. You have to remember, 
in those days, when you retired, you usually lost your health 
insurance, which meant that many seniors also lost access to their 
doctors and health care.
  More than half of America's seniors had no health insurance. This 
meant that middle-class seniors were a heart attack away from 
bankruptcy, a cancer diagnosis away from destitution. It didn't matter 
if you were a senior of modest means or middle-class. Everyone was 
vulnerable.
  But our job was to help. So, with teams led by social workers and 
nurses, we worked to help sick elderly people get health coverage and 
get to their doctor's office. We were focused on helping seniors who 
had neglected their chronic conditions because of inability to travel, 
ignorance of services available to them, fear of asserting their right 
to such services, or other barriers placed in their way.
  I saw firsthand how hard Baltimore's seniors were struggling. They 
were foregoing medical care because they didn't have insurance, because 
they couldn't afford the bills, or simply because they didn't have 
transportation to get to doctor's office or hospital. I knew Medicare 
and Medicaid could help these seniors and all seniors.
  So every single day I would go out to churches and senior citizen 
centers. I would inform people about their options, organize 
transportation for them, and help them fill out complicated forms. In 
those days, we didn't have computers or cell phones. We had to 
physically go meet seniors where they were. And it worked. After 4 
months of operation, we had 103 clients with a variety of chronic 
diseases, and we helped them get the care they needed.
  And Congress took notice of what we were doing. In 1966, I was 
invited to come testify before Congress in the Senate Subcommittee on 
Aging, which was chaired by Senator Kennedy. We told the committee what 
we were doing, told them who we were fighting for. We were fighting for 
people in need, people who lived in unsafe housing, had inadequate diet 
and clothing, a dearth of recreational opportunities, who were lonely 
and were in need of health care.
  These people, our seniors and our families of modest means, were the 
reason Congress passed Medicare and Medicaid in the first place. And 
thank God we did.
  Today, 55 million Americans--nearly every senior--has access to 
Medicare's guarantee. An additional 68 million of our Nation's most 
vulnerable have health care coverage thanks to Medicaid. Because of 
Medicare and Medicaid, more Americans have health insurance. Before 
Medicare, 48 percent of seniors had no insurance. Today, only 2 percent 
of seniors are uninsured. Out of pocket costs have decreased. Before 
Medicare, seniors paid 56 percent of health care expenses out of 
pocket. Today, seniors only pay 13 percent. Life expectancy is longer. 
Medicare has contributed to a 5-year increase in life expectancy after 
age 65. Deaths from heart disease have dropped by a third for people 
over age 65. Our elderly's poverty rate has declined dramatically, from 
29 percent in 1966 to 10 percent today. Seniors have more affordable 
drugs. Since 2010, over 8 million seniors have saved more than $11 
billion on prescription drugs. Kids are getting comprehensive early 
childhood screenings, and 32 million children nationwide now get needed 
childhood screenings.
  In Maryland alone, Medicare ensures that 1 million Maryland seniors 
can get the health care they need at prices they can afford. And 
Medicaid ensures that 975,000 Marylanders can get the health care they 
need, including 478,000 Maryland kids--that is one in three of 
Maryland's children--149,000 Marylanders with disabilities, and 77,000 
of our low-income seniors.
  Over the past half century, we have seen Medicare and Medicaid 
prolong and enhance the lives of millions of Americans. Ensuring access 
to health care for America's most vulnerable ranks as one of our 
Nation's greatest public health accomplishments. That is why I am 
committed to doing everything within my power to keep Medicare and 
Medicaid strong, so that these programs can continue helping those who 
rely on them today, as well as those who will need them tomorrow.
  That means fighting for reforms that keep Medicare solvent, as we did 
in the Affordable Care Act, where we extended Medicare's solvency by 
more than a decade. It means fighting for improvements that make 
Medicare stronger, as we did in the Affordable Care Act, where we 
closed the prescription drug ``donut hole,'' where we gave seniors free 
preventive services, where we put the focus on quality of care, not 
quantity of care.
  And it means fighting to protect these vital programs from those who 
want to turn them from a guarantee into a voucher and political 
promise, as Republicans have repeatedly tried to do in their budget 
proposals.
  Make no mistake, Republican proposals to privatize Medicare, to turn 
it into a voucher program, would end Medicare as we know it. I will not 
let that happen. I will fight side-by-side with those 1 million 
Maryland seniors and 55 million American seniors. We will fight to keep 
Medicare and Medicaid strong and healthy so that they can continue to 
provide for the health care needs of our citizens
  As you can see, there is a lot to celebrate as we mark Medicare and 
Medicaid's 50th anniversary. For the past five decades, these programs 
have accomplished their two main goals: ensuring access to health care 
for the elderly, for the disabled, and for those of modest means. And 
protecting people against the financial hardship of health care costs.
  I consider it a great honor and privilege that I have been able to 
devote so much of my career to protecting, improving, and fighting on 
behalf of Medicare and Medicaid and all the people served by these 
programs. From my days as a young social worker helping seniors and 
families get the health care they needed, to my days in the House and 
Senate fighting against efforts to privatize Medicare or block grant 
Medicaid, to those years spent working to refresh and improve these 
programs through the Affordable Care Act, including closing the ``donut 
hole,'' expanding Medicaid eligibility, and ensuring seniors could get 
free preventive screenings.
  I believe ``honor thy father and mother'' is a good commandment to 
live by and a good policy to govern by. That is why I have fought to 
save and strengthen Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that health care is 
affordable, accessible, reliable, and undeniable.

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