59 years! WOW! President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill on July 30th, 1965.
Our seniors have depended upon Medicare and Social Security for 59 years. Before Medicare, seniors could only rarely access insurance because of their age.
Remembering … When I was in high school, I worked at the Dairy Queen for 30 to 40 hours a week; my paycheck always reflected the deduction for Social Security, and I confess that I wasn’t too happy about that. Retirement seemed a long way away. My boss told me that since I wasn’t 18 yet, I could get my money back, so I went home to tell my mother that I was going to file for a rebate.
But OOPS!!! My Mom said, “NO! You are not doing that.” Then, she proceeded to tell me how lucky I was that I could begin qualifying for Social Security. My grandparents had lost everything—their business, their home, every single cent they had in the bank—during the Great Depression. So, truly, Social Security kept food on the table for my Grandpa as he became less able to work and in his last year, Medicare stepped in to help. Now, I depend in part on both Medicare and Social Security.
Today, Medicare is keeping many people out of bankruptcy. Medical costs have skyrocketed, but the combination of Medicare and Social Security is a lifesaver for our seniors, just like it was for my Grandpa.
ALERT! Some in Congress want to privatize these valuable programs.
Trusting Wall Street would be a disaster for our Seniors.
Think about it: If Social Security and Medicare had depended on Wall Street’s stock market during the Great Depression, the programs would have collapsed. Let’s make sure our Members of Congress don’t allow the Stock Market folks to endanger these valuable programs now. #Medicare59