On 46th Anniversary of Medicare, Ryan Pledges to Fight GOP Efforts to Slash Benefits

Statement

Today, Rep. Tim Ryan announced that July 30th marks the 46th anniversary of enactment of the Medicare program. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in Independence, Missouri and enrolled former President Harry Truman and his wife Bess as the first participants in the program.

"The creation of Medicare is one of our greatest achievements and helped lift millions of seniors out of poverty," stated Rep. Ryan. "House Democrats fought long and hard to pass the original Medicare program, and it's still under attack today. We must continue to honor Medicare's guarantee that our seniors' health needs will be taken care of during their golden years."

In 1964, just 51 percent of Americans over 65 had health care coverage --today, because of Medicare, coverage is practically universal. Medicare has also significantly reduced poverty among those in their golden years. Nearly 30 percent of seniors lived below the poverty line in 1964 -- and today that number has dropped to 7.5 percent. Medicare has also contributed to the life expectancy of Americans increasing significantly.

Today, Medicare provides comprehensive health care coverage to 47 million Americans, including 39 million seniors and 8 million people under 65 with disabilities. Medicare is also enormously popular with seniors and people with disabilities -- with Medicare beneficiaries more satisfied with their coverage than Americans with private insurance. Medicare provides a guaranteed set of benefits and affordable premiums.

"This is a successful program -- but Republicans, as shown by their most recently passed budget, are absolutely committed to dismantling it," said Rep. Ryan.

From 1952 to 1965, Democrats introduced bills every year proposing the Medicare program. However these efforts were largely blocked by Republicans. It was not until 1965, with the support of just 51% of House Republicans, that a bill to create Medicare was sent to President Johnson. In the 1990's, President Clinton vetoed an attack by House Republicans to cut $270 billion from the Medicare program to pay for $245 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy.

On April 15, 2011, House Republicans voted to end Medicare as we know it and replace it with a voucher system that forces seniors to purchase private insurance. Under their plan, Republicans end the guaranteed benefit for those under 55, end the fix to the prescription drug benefit program, and force people to pay an extra $6,000 out-of-pocket per year for Medicare. These changes destroy Medicare as we know it.

"On this 46th anniversary of the Medicare bill signing, I remain 100% committed against the Republican view that the program must be scrapped and replaced with a new system that dramatically increases out-of-pocket costs for seniors," said Rep. Ryan. "Democrats will continue to work to strengthen Medicare's solvency and ensure that Medicare -- the promise we have made to our seniors -- will be there for future generations."

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