TO LIFT A HEAVY BURDEN: THE STORY OF THE MEDICARE AND MEDICAID LAW.
Item
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Title
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TO LIFT A HEAVY BURDEN: THE STORY OF THE MEDICARE AND MEDICAID LAW.
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Identifier
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AAI8222938
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identifier
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8222938
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Creator
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DAVID, SHERI IRIS.
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Contributor
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Arthur Schlesinger
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Date
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1982
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, United States
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Abstract
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In 1957, the proponents of national health insurance, a coalition of AFL-CIO lobbyists and Social Security Administrators, focused on the elderly as the segment of the American population most needy of health assistance. The elderly, left out of group health policies, faced much higher medical costs along with much lower income than the rest of the population. However, health insurance for the elderly met with heavy resistance from the powerful American Medical Association, the Eisenhower Administration, Republicans, and conservative Democrats.;The opponents to the first Forand bill charged that it would become a "foot in the door" for socialism; that it would provide benefits for those who did not need it; that compulsory was wrong; that the private insurance companies could handle the job. In 1960, the opponents got their wish. Congress passed the Kerr-Mills program which established federal matching grants to any states that wished to provide medical payments to those who could prove their need. Kerr-Mills, never successful, became the model for Medicaid.;Once John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, Medicare became a major part of the liberal Democratic legislative program. Sponsored in the Senate by Clinton Anderson and in the House by Cecil King, Medicare still did not have the majority of Congress willing to pass such legislation. The debate in Congress revolved around three main issues: compulsory vs. voluntary; national vs. state administered; social insurance method vs. means test welfare. Despite bitter fights in Congress, and an almost win in 1962, Medicare waited until Lyndon Johnson's landslide election of 1964 before it became a promising bill.;The Medicare legislative proposal went through many transformations from the time it was first proposed in 1957 to the time it was finally passed in 1965. Mostly the changes were made to accomodate the opposition. In a masterful stroke, Wilbur Mills, created a three part program that incorporated the proposals of the opposition. The final 1965 law, signed by Lyndon Johnson on July 31, 1965, included the original Medicare program, an optional insurance program that covered medical fees, and a state administered, medical program to welfare recipients.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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History
