1964: Why We Need Medicare

[excerpt ] (1964) Today there are 15 million Americans over 65; by 1970 there will be 17 million. They need more doctoring than the majority of us; they are more prone to suffer from degenerative diseases affecting the heart, lungs, digestive tract and arteries. Treatment of those diseases tends to be prolonged and expensive. An average American couple over the age of 65 typically spends $312 a year on medical expenses other than hospitalization; and in any year the typical elderly individual has a 13-percent chance of being hospitalized. The brutal economic meaning of those high costs is that advancing medical science has endowed many elderly couples with more life than they can afford. Both life expectancy and medical costs seem destined to continue to grow.

(2011) Republicans want to abolish Medicare entirely and leave it up to individual states to create their own policies. 

[excerpt] (1964) The vague and permissive guidelines established by Congress have thus resulted in state programs of a widely different character. Some states have very restrictive programs. The kind of benefits provided by the states is critical to an evaluation of the program. Of equal significance is a determination of who benefits by the program. Does the program provide for those who cannot otherwise afford adequate medical care? Eligibility tests established by the states vary widely.

It's a lengthy article, but well worth the read. Click the brown button below to read on.