title: Assessing four decades of Medicare, Medicaid.
abstract: Medicare and Medicaid were born 40 years ago, offering the first federally funded safety net for senior citizens, the uninsured and the disabled. While President Theodore Roosevelt, left, first proposed a national health insurance program in 1912, it took decades of political infighting before a program could be created. A look at the past, present and possible future of these important programs begins on Page 6.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000846:Anniversaries and Special Events; D002910:Chronology as Topic; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006278:Medicare / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends; D009310:National Health Insurance, United States / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011057:Politics; D014481:United States