Social Security Amendments Law The thought of national health insurance in the United States began in the early 20th century. President Theodore Roosevelt who served from 1901-1909 presented social insurance programs while he was trying to run for another term but was unsuccessful. His thought was that the country needed healthy people and would only cover the working class. Franklin D. Roosevelt, his distant cousin, continued to fight for social insurance.
Congress passed the Social Security Act of 1935 but it only contained old-age insurance, unemployment compensation, maternal and child health, but it did not include health insurance. In 1946 the Hill-Burton passed a hospital construction program in which it became active and meant that hospitals were required to serve the poor in exchange for federal funds. There was a congress debate in which they determined in favor of providing federal aid for health care for the poor and introduced legislation in 1957. Representative Wilbur Mills of Arkansas became head of the Committee in 1958 he had a significant impact over Medicare and Medicaid than any other legislator. Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico served as President’s Truman’s secretary and entered the Senate and became the principal sponsor of the Kennedy administration’s Medicare bill. In 1965 John Byrnes introduced a program that would cover physician’s services that were supplementary medical insurance known as Medicare Part B. President John F.
Kennedy made Medicare one of his priorities after intense bargaining with the members of the Congress no change was made because unfortunately, Kennedy died before accomplishing his goal. After Kennedy died, President Lyndon B. Johnson was elected and also made the passage of Medicare his top priority. Medicare and Medicaid were then known as “jewel in the crown of the federal government.” In 1965 the Social Security Amendments initiated the two programs that offered medical assistance to the aged which were people older than 65 and medical assistance to the “needy” which were the people of lower income that could not afford to pay their medical bills. This act was signed by President Lyndon Johnson on July 30, 1965.
In the first year, this program was a total success with nearly 20 million beneficiaries enrolled in it. In the 1950 census showed that the age population was raised in the United States it had grown 3 million in 1900 and up to 12 million in 1950 and only had an annual income of $1,000. This meant that most older adults could not afford to even go to the doctors and made the Congress and the president realized that something needed to be done. (www.ourdocuemts.gov, n.d.)On July 1, 1966, Medicare and Medicaid finally begun Medicare then extended their health coverage to all Americans with the age of 65 or older as well as those already receiving benefits from Social Security, or the Railroad Retirement Board.
Finally, health care services were provided to low-income children, to children that did not have their parental support, the elderly, the blind and people with other disabilities. With this, another 19 million American enrolled in Medicare, and about 8 million people were enrolled in Medicaid. President Richard M.
Nixon then made an expansion of the requirements and made it possible for two more million Americans to be eligible that were under the age of 65 they were people that had an end-stage renal disease they were the first group granted Medicare because of a specific condition. In 1972 a considerable concern came across with this massive expansion of insurance the cost of health care was a concern. President Nixon then decided to stimulate the creation of Health Maintenance Organization HMO Act provided start-up grants and loans to let organizations function. Social Security Amendments had finally created Medicare and Medicaid programs making excellent health care available to millions of Americans.
Medicare and Medicaid have come a long way since 1965. On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed a Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act otherwise known as MMA in a law. MMA has made it possible for outpatients to receive some financial help with prescription drugs as well.
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