Medicare

Tyler Unger H American Experience 2/3 Glasier May 11, 2011 The Medicare Act of 1965

The Medicare Act of 1965 was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson with the goal to provide health insurance to all U.S. citizens ages 65 and over and to anyone with a permanent physical or mental disability. Johnson began to take notice of a problem with health insurance in the United States when he saw elderly and people suffering from disabilities couldn’t afford the amount of health insurance they needed. As people begin to get older and their bodies grow up with them, they usually need more doctor’s appointments and treatment in order to keep them in the best possible shape they could be in. Medicare doesn’t come completely free of charge though. It is still required that people on Medicare pay a monthly fee in order to receive their insurance. People with disabilities can receive Medicare insurance but if their disability or disease heals, they are taken off of the list until they turn 65. Johnson thought the amendment would be helpful to the elderly and disabled because not everyone was able to supply the proper insurance they need to keep their health the best and help them when something life threatening occurs. Medicare went into effect when Johnson signed the Social Security Act on July 30. 1965. Immediately thousands or even millions of people were benefiting from the Medicare they were now receiving, but a few people still weren’t able to pay for the much cheaper cost of Medicare health insurance. Part A of Medicare, which covers hospital insurance is free for anyone the paid or had their spouses pay Medicare taxes while they were working. However, anyone self employed or anyone who didn’t work much when they were younger has to pay as much as $443 a month to receive part A of the insurance. Part B of Medicare is free to nobody. This part covers Medical Insurance of around $115 a month which is taken out of most people’s Social Security checks. Part B however, is optional. If an elder couldn’t pay for his or her own Medicare, they weren’t able to receive the insurance. Some people have also argued that Medicare takes away the responsibility for people to care for his or her own health. A counter argument can be thrown back that Medicare is not required for anyone; it’s just an option that is very helpful to many. An ongoing problem with Medicare is the Hospital Insurance. A 2008 study showed that hospitals could run out of money in their trust funds by 2017. This issue has been seen as serious, but not as important as many other issues in the world, so until the problem grows larger, it’s being left alone.

Medicare has helped millions of elderly and disabled get the help from hospitals and doctors that they need. By age 65 almost every citizen in the United States fills out the required application to begin receiving Medicare insurance. Medicare is paid for by insurance every young worker pays for until they turn 65. The law is still in effect today because in order to help the elderly and disabled live as long as possible and to help heal any issues they’ve picked up, Medicare is required. It’s begun to be seen as one of the best and most used aspects of Johnson’s great society. If Johnson was still in the White House he would keep this act going strong because of all the work it’s done to help many people who worked all their life to receive these types of benefits.

“Medicare (United States)”. //Wikipedia.com//. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 May 2011. Web. May 11, 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)>

 Devon Jordan Mr. Glasier AMEX. 5/11/11 The Medicare Act of 1965 The Medicare Act was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. It addressed the issue of getting health care. Johnson felt this was extremely important due to the gaps in health care coverage across America. It was aimed to help elderly people 65 and over, and also helped the disabled get coverage. Luckily, when the law was passed it didn’t hurt many people economically, but over time a slight inflation was produced by the large amount of money begin put into Medicare. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The law was somewhat effective in the sense that it gave some relief to the elderly and the disabled, since they were able to get coverage now. The only bad thing about the law was the insanely high cost to put Medicare in effect. It also caused many debates in congress and was an issue that was brought up again and again for years. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Medicare is still in effect to this day. It is still in effect because it is successful in helping the elderly and disabled. If Lyndon Johnson were still President today, he would keep the law exactly the same. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Works Cited <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Outterson, Kevin. "Medicare Act (1965)." //Major Acts of Congress//. Ed. Brian K. Landsberg. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 264-267. //Gale U.S. History In Context//. Web. 11 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">