On the recordJanuary 7, 2015
I commend my colleague from Oregon for reminding us of this 50th anniversary of President Johnson's recommendation to Congress to create Medicare and Medicaid. Today, as we witness 54 million people benefitting in America from Medicare--in my State some 2 million--and 68 million from Medicaid--in my State 3 million--we understand the importance of this program. Almost half the people who live in Illinois are covered with health insurance by Medicare and Medicaid. When we add in the Affordable Care Act, we have literally half the population of my State. It is a testament to the fact that when we made a commitment and followed through on a bipartisan basis, as the Senator from Oregon said, we created programs that had vibrancy and really served people for a long time. I read something the Senator from Oregon is, I am sure aware, of, which is that because Medicare was a complete Federal payout, it was implemented throughout the United States almost within a year. It took 17 years for every State to join the Medicaid Program. It wasn't until 1982 that the last State joined into Medicaid--Arizona--because there was a State contribution. Look at the experience we have now with the Affordable Care Act, where some States are reluctant to join in. So that is part of it. The point I wish to get to and which the Senator made so well is how it changed life for senior citizens and for those who were poor.…
