Social Security Amendments of 1965

Social Security Amendments of 1965

Other short titles	Health Insurance for the Aged Act Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Amendments of 1965
Long title	An Act to provide a hospital insurance program for the aged under the Social Security Act with a supplementary health benefits program and an expanded program of medical assistance, to increase benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance System, to improve the Federal-State public assistance programs, and for other purposes.
Enacted by	the 89th United States Congress
Effective	July 30, 1965
Citations
Public law	89-97
Statutes at Large	79 Stat. 286
Codification
Acts amended	Social Security Act
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 6675 by Wilbur Mills (D–AR) on March 29, 1965 Committee consideration by House Ways and Means Passed the House on April 8, 1965 (313-115) Passed the Senate on July 9, 1965 (68-21) Reported by the joint conference committee on July 27, 1965; agreed to by the House on July 27, 1965 (307-116) and by the Senate on July 28, 1965 (70-24) Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30, 1965

The Social Security Amendments of 1965, Pub.L. 89–97, 79 Stat. 286, enacted July 30, 1965, was legislation in the United States whose most important provisions resulted in creation of two programs: Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation initially provided federal health insurance for the elderly (over 65) and for poor families.

Many politicians were involved in drafting the final bill that was introduced to the United States Congress in March 1965. On July 30, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law.

The concept of national health insurance began in the early 20th century in the United States and then came to prominence during the Truman administration. Between 1958 and 1964, controversy grew and a bill was drafted. The signing of the act, as part of Johnson's Great Society, began an era with a greater emphasis on public health issues. Medicare and Medicaid became the United States' first public health insurance programs. The legislation was vigorously opposed by the American Medical Association until it had been enacted, following which the AMA cooperated in its implementation.

In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt included social insurance for sickness in the platform of his Progressive Party (United States, 1912). Around 1915 the group American Association for Labor Legislation attempted to introduce a medical insurance bill to some state legislatures. These attempts were not successful, and as a result controversy about national insurance came about. National groups supporting the idea of government health insurance included the AFL-CIO, the American Nurses Association, National Association of Social Workers, and the Socialist Party USA. The most prominent opponent of national medical insurance was the American Medical Association (AMA); others included the American Hospital Association, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the Life Insurance Association of People.

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