Overview of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs

Since early in this century, health insurance coverage has been an important issue in the US. After lengthy national debate, Congress passed legislation in 1965 establishing the Medicare and Medicaid programs as Title XVIII and Title XIX, respectively, of the Social Security Act. Medicare was established in response to the specific medical care needs of the elderly. Medicaid was established in response to the widely perceived inadequacy of welfare medicare care under public assistance. Responsibility for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs was entrusted to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare - the forerunner of the current DHHS.