Congresswoman Schakowsky Celebrates the 55th Birthday of Medicare and Medicaid

WASHINGTON, DC - 55 years ago today, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Co-Founder & Co-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, released the following statement in celebration of the anniversary:

"Medicare and Medicaid are the bedrock of our health care system. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the significant improvements we must make to that system, the millions of Americans who have turned to these public programs over the past seven months are an indication of their strength. Essentially every person in the United States has relied, is relying, or will rely on these programs to survive.

"Unfortunately, the Trump Administration's current effort to tear down the Affordable Care Act in the courts is a direct assault on Medicaid expansion and the Medicare improvements we passed through the ACA. In fact, throughout my time in Congress, my Republican colleagues have tried to voucherize and cut Medicare and to cap and destroy the Medicaid program. But there's a reason Medicare and Medicaid were enacted together and must exist together. We can't care for our older Americans without protecting low-income individuals, often their families and their grandchildren, in the same manner. What we knew 55 years ago is still true today: we must ensure that every person in the United States—no matter how old, no matter their ability, and no matter their income—has access to affordable and accessible health care.

"Today, I was in Atlanta to lay to rest my dear friend and fellow Senior Chief Deputy Whip, Congresswoman John Lewis. Though I usually use this anniversary to share stories from my constituents about how Medicare and Medicaid have uplifted them, I want to leave you with John's own words, from a speech he gave to the Center for Medicare Advocacy's national summit just last year:

‘When President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, another piece of the Beloved Community came into place. Where would we be today, where would our nation be, without Medicare?...

‘Every family at some point will experience injury or illness. No mother or father should have to lay awake at night worried for a child to recover while also fearing the arrival of the bill. No parents should have to choose between food and medicine. No parents should have to choose between the mortgage and providing necessary medical treatment…

‘You see, I believe in my heart of hearts that quality, affordable health care is a right. It is a right.'"

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