Wednesday, July 30, marks 60 years since Medicaid and Medicare were signed into law – major amendments to the Social Security Act of 1935. A Massachusetts congressman is using the anniversary to call for undoing cuts to Medicaid recently signed into law by President Trump.
It’s been six decades since then-President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, legislation creating both Medicare and Medicaid.
“Time will prove the Medicare program for our senior citizens is a great step forward in meeting one of the most critical needs that confront most of our elder citizens. For many, it is a step from charity to security and dignity,” said former President Harry Truman in a Medicare PSA. A supporter of federal health insurance, Truman would become one of the first citizens to enroll in Medicare.
At least 71 million people were said to be enrolled in Medicaid as of early 2025, with over 66 million receiving coverage from Medicare.
According to officials at the Life Care Center of Wilbraham, more than half of the 113 people at the nursing home rely on Medicaid. It’s where Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat from the 1st district, marked the program’s anniversary Monday – complete with a cake and singing of “Happy Birthday” with those at the facility.
“What's important to remember is that Medicare was on the health care side, perceived as an earned benefit - Medicaid was to get people into the first, real opportunity we had for universal health care, or at least universal access,” he said while presenting on the history of the programs.
Neal returned to the Wilbraham center months after warning of pending Medicaid cuts in the now-signed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The Republican legislation includes more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid that would span a decade. GOP supporters say new work and verification requirements in it will reduce fraud and waste, and strengthen the program for American citizens.
The Trump administration continues to maintain the "Big, Beautiful Bill" does not cut the program, with a White House page stating “As the President has said numerous times, there will be no cuts to Medicaid.”
Meanwhile, Democrats have been touting figures from the non-partisan CBO that show more than 10 million people could lose their health insurance in the years ahead as a result of the cuts to both Medicaid and other changes in the bill – 7.8 million due to Medicaid provisions alone, according to Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, with more than half due to new work requirements (4.8 million).
Neal says the CBO is not the only non-partisan body calling Medicaid changes “cuts,” either.
“What is known as the Joint Committee on Taxation – these are not Republicans or Democrats: these are CPAs, these are tax lawyers and they all said these cuts are going to take place,” Neal said. “It’s not me saying it, they said it. They’re the referee … you need referees in public life ... people who sort facts and stick to it.”
As Neal noted, those cuts are not all at-once – with significant Medicaid cuts starting up after the 2026 midterm elections.
“You get kind of a kick out of this - the actual cuts to Medicaid don't take place until after the next election - pretty contrived,” he said. “… that's why it's very important that we remind people now of what that means.”
The Democrat has repeatedly said the cuts to Medicaid and other elements of the bill were “not thought through” and emphasized how his party will be hammering the president and his party over cuts to Medicaid and other programs on the national stage.
As minority Democrats seek to regain control of Congress, the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee said his caucus may also soon be putting legislation forward to expand government assistance as the Republican majority slashes spending.
“… we intend to propose expanded Social Security benefits and we will also propose how to pay for it,” he told reporters. “Just a point of reference, because I think it's essential, the average Social Security check, annually, [on] average, is $24,000 a year. That means half the people that receive Social Security receive less than $24,000 a year. People are not getting rich on Social Security.”
Audio from the Harry S. Truman Library archive was used for this piece.
