A Brief History of Medicare and Medicaid Essay

Medicare Medicaid

A brief history of Medicaid and Medicare

The idea of a national health insurance plan gained political momentum in the first part of the 20th C. President T. Roosevelt was among the pioneers in making the health insurance issue a campaign matter. The Second New Deal crafted by President Roosevelt involved including the Social Security program in the laws (Piatak, 2015). The act tried to reduce the extent to which such factors as poverty, old age, widowhood and children without known fathers were seen as dangers. The New Deal had a chunk of its content expunged by the Supreme Court because they were either seen as unconstitutional or simply not within the jurisdiction of the federal government. Some of the acts such as the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act were ordered removed, by the Supreme Court.

The medical insurance scheme that had been drawn by President Roosevelt and his team was also expunged by the Supreme Court. Later, President Truman made attempts to incorporate such a social health scheme in his government programs but also failed. Other efforts include the one in 1915 when the American Association for Labor Administration presented a health insurance bill before the legislatures at state level. The latter effort also failed miserably (Piatak, 2015). Nevertheless, in 1965, The Social Security Amendment Bill was passed under President Lyndon Johnson. The bill was passed in both the House and the Senate with 307 and 70 votes respectively. The Act of 1965 had two parts: which were later named Medicaid and Medicare (Piatak, 2015). Johnson was modest at the signing of the Act by crediting former President Truman for initiating the process.

Populations that they are intended to serve

President Lyndon Johnson finally signed into law the Medicaid and Medicare implementation bill on 30th July 1965. Early in the day, the Medicare segment constituted Part A for hospital insurance and Part B for medical care insurance. Both parts came to be what is called the Original Medicare. They are used to assist Americans with footing healthcare costs. Over the years, the Congress has been reviewing and changing the plan so as to make it accessible to more Americans. Medicare extended its coverage in 1972 to include disabled people, the terminally ill renal disease patients and all elderly people at 65 years and above (Piatak, 2015).



Medicaid has made many significant steps over the time in helping American citizens in need of healthcare. At first, the program only focused on people with financial help. It has evolved to; now, include people with disability, low income, pregnant women, and those that require long term care. In 1997, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan was instituted. The program offered preventive health care about to 11 million children who were uninsured. All the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and its territories provide CHIP health plans.

The MMA Act of 2003 was the most revolutionary change in the Medicare program in almost four decades. Health plans in the private sector approved by Medicare were referred to as the Medicare Advantage, or Part C Medicare. Medicare part D was added to the MMA. It was an optional benefit for prescription drugs. The ACA came into place in 2010(Salmond & Echevarria, 2017). The plan enacted the Health Insurance Marketplace. It was a one stop shop for all consumers apply and enroll in private insurance plans across spectrum.



States that have expanded Medicaid

I hail from the state of Virginia which continues to expand Medicaid so that more people can access it. Terry McAuliffe (D), the former governor, was instrumental in the expansion of Medicaid in Virginia. However, in 2014, June, the legislature failed to include the expansion program in…