54 years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed both Medicaid and Medicare into law on July 30, 1965. Today, 44 million Americans, approximately 15% of the population, are on Medicare. And about 75 million people, approximately 20% of our population, are in the Medicaid program.
Until the enactment of Medicare, our older Americans were often denied coverage by health insurers. They were deemed too old to work or employers refused coverage citing costly expenses.
Rising medical costs pushed people into poverty or forced them to make choices to go without food or heat in order to see a doctor or get care. With Medicare, along with Social Security, the lives of our senior citizens have been dramatically improved. Millions of our senior citizens have been lifted out of poverty and they can face the medical challenges of aging without worrying how to pay for their health care.
We've seen an expansion of Medicaid since its founding. Under Medicaid and CHIP, 70 million Americans are covered. This program has had an undeniable impact on our younger populations and low-income families, has decreased infant and child mortality and improved long-term health overall.
Let's not forget that we've also come to rely on health care through the Affordable Care Act – whether that’s the expanded Medicaid coverage or insurance through the exchange. The ACA has also improved the lives of millions of Americans.
According to the Center for American Progress' most recent July 2019 estimates, 45,000 people stand to lose health insurance coverage in my district if the ACA is repealed. In Connecticut overall, 223,000 people could lose coverage.
As we look at the successes of these programs and the future of health care, the debates and conversations around your own kitchen tables and living rooms have heated up about expanding Medicare eligibility to provide coverage to more Americans who lack health insurance and protecting Medicaid.
And that's a conversation I'm interested in and exploring while I'm fighting every day to protect and improve the ACA.
Democrats are fighting at every level to protect your health care, expand health care coverage and provide access to affordable and quality care, just like we've been doing for more than 54 years. And we won't stop. Our fight continues.
