Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today released the following statement on the 55th anniversary of the day President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965.
“Although Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965, calls to create a program to protect Americans’ health go back over a century. From Teddy Roosevelt to Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Nixon, American presidents have long understood that we have an essential obligation to ensure that seniors, families, and those with disabilities can get the health care they need, no matter their income. For over five decades, the Medicare and Medicaid programs have ensured that some of America’s most vulnerable populations have health care to turn to when they need it. Today, more than 135 million Americans rely on them. These programs have produced tremendous gains in health for our seniors and those in the disabled community, and I will always fight to protect this non-negotiable obligation to those who depend on it.”
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