In 1965, Medicaid and Medicare were created through amending the Social Security Act of 1935. Medicaid as a health care program for low-income individuals and Medicare as a health care program for those over the age of 65.
Background of AALL tries to push compulsory health care (1915) and Truman calls for National Health program (1947)
In 1960, the Kerr-Mills Act was passed to providing funding to states to create health care programs for extremely low-income elderly populations. However, only 28 states opted in by creating a program and eligibility requirements were very strict leading to very few of low-income elderly being able to access the program. 1
Major bill components:
provided access to health insurance for everyone 65 years old and up, no matter their income, medical history or health status.
included an expanded version of the Kerr-Mills Act, later called Medicaid.
voluntary program covering physicians’ costs paid for by a contribution from beneficiaries and general federal revenue.
hospital insurance paid for by Social Security taxes.
Medicaid:
An expanded version of the Kerr-Mills Act, originally provided health insurance coverage to families receiving Aid to Dependent Families with Children (AFDC).
In 1972, an amendment provided a uniform baseline income for eligibility to Medicaid, in
conjunction with eligibility for Social Security Income (SSI).Over time, Congress expanded federal minimum requirements and provided new coverage options for states especially for children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Congress also required Medicaid to help pay for premiums and cost-sharing for low-income Medicare beneficiaries and allowed states to offer an option to “buy-in” to Medicaid for working individuals with disabilities.
The federal government pays a minimum of $1 for every $1 a state spends on Medicaid
The Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) is a formula that sets how much the federal government contributes to Medicaid in a state
Medicare:
For individuals aged 65 and older, the amendment established a:
Hospital insurance plan for:
Social Security retirement beneficiaries, financed by a special earnings tax, and
Individuals ineligible for Social Security retirement, financed by Federal general revenue.
The plan covered inpatient hospital services, post-hospital care, outpatient hospital diagnostic services, post-hospital home health services.
Individuals to enroll in a supplementary medical insurance plan for a monthly premium, regardless of Social Security eligibility.
The plan covered physicians’ services, home health services, etc.
The Original Medicare Plan, or Original Medicare, encompasses Medicare Part A and B. Under this plan, once an enrollee meets their deductible, Medicare pays a portion of covered services and the enrollee pays coinsurance and copayments.
If an individual has not begun receiving retirement benefits, they have a seven-month enrollment period and can sign up for Medicare Part A and/or Part B as early as three months before and as late as three months after they turn 65.
After 24 months of receiving Social Security disability benefits, an individual will be automatically enrolled in
Medicare Part A, or hospital insurance, helps an individual pay for inpatient hospital care, home health care, and hospice.
An individual or their spouse qualifies for free if they are age 65 or older and have paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.
If an individual or their spouse is age 65 or older and did not pay Medicare taxes while they worked, they can pay for this plan.
An individual receiving Social Security retirement benefits is automatically enrolled in free Medicare Part A when they turn 65.
Medicare Part B, or medical insurance, helps an individual pay for health care provider services, outpatient care, and preventative services.
Most individuals pay a monthly premium.
For more on medicaid and medicare, see here and here respectively.
For the full text of the bill, see here.
Endnotes