Medicare at 60: How a New Deal cornerstone faces today’s political tests
TL;DR Summary
Sixty years after Medicare and Medicaid began in 1966, this post traces their roots from Truman’s Economic Bill of Rights to LBJ’s signing of the amendments, showing how the programs expanded health coverage and anchored a social safety net, then contrasts that history with today’s GOP push to reshape or cut Medicaid and change Medicare drug subsidies under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, highlighting the ongoing struggle between collective health security and political calls for reduced government involvement.
- July 30, 2026 Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson | Substack
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Read on Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson | Substack