Â鶹ŮÓÅ

It was exactly 50 years ago this week that President Lyndon B. Johnson flew to Independence, Mo., and, with former president Harry Truman at his side, signed into law the legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. It was a seminal moment in U.S. political history. (Robert J. Samuelson, 7/26)

Medicare turns 50 this week, and it has been a very good half-century. Before the program went into effect, Ronald Reagan warned that it would destroy American freedom; it didn’t, as far as anyone can tell. What it did do was provide a huge improvement in financial security for seniors and their families, and in many cases it has literally been a lifesaver as well. (Paul Krugman, 7/27)

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed them into law on July 30, 1965, only 56% of Americans 65 years or older were insured, and many were in poverty. Medical and hospital care provided to seniors was often given as charity. Older Americans generally suffered with poor health, and health care disparities were the norm, particularly in the South, where hospitals remained segregated. (7/25)

Medicare is about to turn 50, and while it has brought immense benefits, it has also cost a lot of money. Why? Is it the general rise in health care spending, or some specific government-related inability to limit outlays? (Paul Krugman, 7/26)

A few years back elite policy discourse in the United States was totally dominated by the supposed entitlements crisis. Serious people all assured each other that history’s greatest menace was the threat posed by the unstoppable growth of Medicare. Medicaid and social security, which could only be tamed by dismantling the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society, while of course cutting top marginal tax rates. (Paul Krugman, 7/26)