Reps. Butterfield, Johnson highlight 49th Anniversary of Medicare & Medicaid


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC) and Hank Johnson (D-GA) marked the 49th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid.  President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law on July 30, 1965.

“Forty-nine years ago, Democrats created Medicare and Medicaid; over nearly half a century, we have sustained them; now and into the future, we will protect them,” stated Rep. Butterfield.

This spring, Republicans once again passed a House GOP budget that ends Medicare as we know it and turns this sacred initiative into a privatized voucher plan, increasing future health costs for seniors.

“On the 49th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare, I will stand with our seniors and recommit to rejecting plans that will end Medicare as we know it and increase costs,” said Rep. Butterfield.

“Democrats have also been working to strengthen Medicare,” Rep. Johnson said.  “The Affordable Care Act contains several provisions to improve Medicare.  The ACA provides free Medicare coverage for key preventive services and it also has created significant savings for many seniors by providing discounts on their drugs for those in the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ coverage gap.”

Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, people with Medicare in Georgia have saved $327 million on prescription drugs. So far in 2014 alone, more than 47,000 individuals in Georgia saved $39 million, or an average of $835 per enrollee. In North Carolina, people with Medicare have saved $359 million on prescription drugs. So far in 2014 alone, 56,000 individuals in North Carolina saved $41 million, or an average of $741 per enrollee.

Furthermore, there is lots of other good news about how the ACA has benefited Medicare enrollees:

 

•             Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the life of the Medicare Trust Fund has been extended by 13 years.  The provisions of the ACA have played a critical role in helping to extend the Trust Fund.

•             The growth rate in Medicare spending per person has fallen dramatically – falling from an annual average growth rate per person of 6.3 percent in 2000-2008 to 2.0 percent in 2009-2012.

•             Lower Medicare spending means lower cost sharing and lower premiums for Medicare enrollees.  For example, after having grown rapidly under President George W. Bush, the Medicare Part B premium did not increase at all in 2014 – remaining at the 2013 level – and it is projected it will remain again at the 2013 level in 2015.

“Democrats are also proud of the health security being provided to millions of Americans by the Medicaid program,” Rep. Butterfield added. 

More than 60 million Americans are currently enrolled in Medicaid.  In addition, for those states that have chosen to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the ACA has made a tremendous difference already. According to a study by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, in states that expanded Medicaid, the uninsured rate for poor adults has  dropped from 28 percent to 17 percent, whereas in states that have refused to expand Medicaid, the uninsured rate for low-income adults has only dropped from 38 percent to 36 percent.

“As we celebrate the anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, I am determined to continue to strengthen them,” Rep. Johnson said.  “Over the last 49 years, Democrats have fought vigorously to enact Medicare and Medicaid and protect them and we will not stop.”

 

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