By W. Stephen Love, President/CEO, DFW Hospital Council

I would like to wish Medicare and Medicaid a happy birthday. On July 30, 2015, the programs turned 50 years old. I am old enough to remember the birth of these social healthcare programs, and it was not easy.

In 1965, senior citizens over the age of 65 had little income and few assets. They also had more chronic illness and struggled to afford healthcare costs. During that era, there were three schools of thought. The first was to “do nothing,” with no state or federal assistance because the government should not be involved in healthcare.

The second was a conservative concept dubbed “Eldercare,” essentially a plan to let each state decide its level of coverage. The federal government would assist with reimbursement, but key decisions would be made by the state.

The third idea was a Medicare program which included a component called Medicaid. The leaders of each state would decide if they wanted to participate in the Medicaid program.

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson famously signed Medicare and Medicaid into law on July 30, 1965. Many decried this legislation, calling it “socialized medicine,” or a “Soviet medical model.” Opponents claimed these healthcare programs would ruin America. Sound familiar?

July 30, 1965

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in April revealed 77 percent of the respondents thought Medicare was an important program, while 63 percent supported Medicaid. Both programs certainly have room for improvement, but this 50-year report card is pretty darn good.

It is time to tone down the political rhetoric. We must focus our attention on Texas residents hovering near the federal poverty level and provide them with the healthcare they so desperately need. We can achieve this important goal by expanding Medicaid coverage in Texas.

Or, as the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”