Tatiana Fassieux: 50 years ago, Medicare created to provide health care for seniors

This year marks half a century of health care coverage for our country’s senior citizens. Before Medicare, a major health event for an older adult often meant needing to barter for care, go into financial ruin, or to simply go without.

Often, older adults with children became solely dependent on their adult children for care, and those without children had no options. The life expectancy for seniors in the 1930s was 61 years for caucasians and 48 years for African Americans.

Something needed to change, and the push for creating some sort of government senior health coverage system began.

This fight for government health coverage for the older adults took decades, and in some ways reflects a similar fight we have today for millions of Americans awaiting the Supreme Court’s rule on a key provision of the Affordable Care Act – insurance subsidies for over 6 million people in 34 states with federally run health care marketplaces.

Harry Truman became the first president to send a formal proposal for Medicare to Congress in 1945. While it failed, the seed was planted and the push, discussion and disputes continued another 20 years until the legislation to establish the Medicare and Medicaid program was signed into law in 1965.

Now, and for the last 50 years, most seniors 65 years and older qualify for Medicare and receive hospital coverage under Medicare Part A. Outpatient care and medical supplies are covered under Medicare Part B with prescription drugs covered under Part D.

In 1972, Medicare extended this coverage to include those younger than 65 with a disability.

While Medicare does not provide comprehensive coverage, it is a successful program that helps prolong lives, increases well-being and peace of mind, and gives access to both acute and preventive care to over 55 million beneficiaries.

The battle to enact this legislation – including key players, debates, and strategies – to create these programs and guarantee the support of doctors can be found at http://kff.org/medicare/video/medicare-and-medicaid-at-50/. It also covers some of the milestones in how this coverage system has changed and grown in the last five decades.

While much progress has been made in securing Medicare’s future, California Health Advocates works diligently to protect the rights of California’s Medicare population through education, advocacy and policy work. CHA’s advocacy regarding access to Medicare benefits, long-term care insurance, Medigap coverage and appeals as well as their efforts to combat Medicare fraud have resulted in millions of dollars saved. Yet, California’s aging population is growing and continued efforts are needed.

Help CHA achieve its mission to ensure all have access to unbiased and accurate information necessary to make important health-care and long-term care decisions.

To celebrate Medicare’s 50 years, and California Health Advocates’ work, CHA invites you to make a donation at www.cahealthadvocates.org/donate/index.php. An anonymous donor will match donations up to $2,000 until Medicare’s 50th anniversary on July 30. Your generosity helps CHA continue its work to advocate for, educate, empower Medicare beneficiaries.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Tatiana Fassieux: 50 years ago, Medicare created to provide health care for seniors."