Key Milestones in Medicare and Medicaid History, Selected Years: 1965-2003

1965 Medicare and Medicaid were enacted as Title XVIII and Title XIX of the Social Security Act, extending health coverage to almost all Americans age 65 or over (e.g., those receiving retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board), and providing health care services to low-income children deprived of parental support, their care-taker relatives, the elderly, the blind, and individuals with disabilities. Seniors were the population group most likely to be liv-ing in poverty; about one-half had health insurance coverage.