Dick Durbin: “in 1965, millions of Americans and nearly half the country's seniors couldn't afford basic health care. But that began…”

“in 1965, millions of Americans and nearly half the country's seniors couldn't afford basic health care. But that began to change 50 years ago today. President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Medicare program for the elderly and the Medicaid program for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Although it was signed by President Johnson, it ``started with the man from Independence,'' . . . Harry S. Truman. In 1949, Truman became the first President to publically support a national health insurance program and sent a bill to Congress that would give health insurance to everyone age 65 and older. Critics called the idea ``socialized medicine,'' and the effort failed. Sixteen years later, President Johnson believed ``the times had caught up with the idea.'' And he was right. Today, 46 million older adults and 9 million people with disabilities depend on Medicare for health care and economic security. In Illinois, 1.9 million people are enrolled in Medicare. And because of the Affordable Care Act, the program has grown stronger. The Medicare Part A trust fund is now expected to be solvent for an additional 13 years because of the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is also helping seniors with the cost of their prescription drugs. Since the passage of the ACA, people with Medicare in Illinois have saved over $554 million on prescription drugs, because we closed the donut hole.…”