III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 50 

Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the vital role of Medicare in 

the health care system of our Nation over the last 40 years. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2005 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. REID, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. CORZINE, 

Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. OBAMA, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. REED, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. KOHL, Mr. DORGAN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KERRY, 

Mr. JOHNSON, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. 

SALAZAR, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. DODD, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. 

BYRD, and Mr. CARPER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Finance 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the vital role 

of Medicare in the health care system of our Nation 

over the last 40 years. 

Whereas Medicare was signed into law by President Lyndon 

B. Johnson in Independence, Missouri, on July 30, 1965, 

as title XVIII of the Social Security Act; 

Whereas Medicare was created to provide health insurance to 

the elderly in part because only about half of the elderly 

population had health insurance; 
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Whereas Medicare continues to achieve its purpose of improving health and financial security for Medicare beneficiaries by assuring access to affordable health care and 

contributing to the significant decrease in the poverty 

rate among the elderly, which has fallen from nearly 30 

percent in 1966 to approximately 10 percent in 2002; 

Whereas Medicare played a fundamental role, together with 

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in desegregating the American health care system by assuring access to care, regardless of race or age; 

Whereas Medicare has contributed to improvements in life expectancy for persons over 65 years of age; 

Whereas Medicare began with 19 million beneficiaries, and 

since then has provided health care services for approximately 105 million beneficiaries over the last 40 years; 

Whereas Medicare today provides comprehensive health insurance for nearly 42 million Americans, which includes 

more than 35 million senior citizens and 6 million people 

under 65 years of age who are permanently disabled or 

living with end stage renal disease, and by 2030 the 

number of Americans who will rely on Medicare for their 

health care is expected to reach 78 million, which is nearly double the number today; 

Whereas Medicare ensures coverage along a continuum of 

health care settings such as inpatient hospital care, physician and outpatient hospital care, and other post-hospitalization benefits such as home health care, skilled 

nursing facility services, and hospice care; 

Whereas Medicare has evolved over time to help beneficiaries 

maintain their health, prevent disease and injury, and to 

provide better benefits, including more preventive care, 
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such that Medicare, which covered about 42 percent of 

expenditures for the elderly in 1968, covered approximately 55 percent of expenditures by 1997; 

Whereas Medicare serves a diverse population of beneficiaries 

with complex health care needs—71 percent of beneficiaries have two or more chronic health conditions, 29 

percent are in fair to poor health, and 23 percent have 

cognitive impairments; 

Whereas many who depend upon Medicare have modest incomes and assets—a majority of Medicare beneficiaries 

have incomes below 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

level ($19,140 for individuals and $25,660 for married 

couples in 2005) and 48 percent of non-institutionalized 

Medicare beneficiaries have assets below $10,000; 

Whereas Medicare provides health insurance for nearly 6 million individuals under the age of 65 who live with disabilities or illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, depression, and HIV/AIDS, and who are more 

likely than those who are elderly to be in poor health and 

be unable to live independently and perform basic activities of daily living; 

Whereas Medicare provides health insurance coverage for 

nearly one-in-five adult women in the United States and 

plays an especially important role in assuring access to 

health care for older women who have lower average annual incomes than men of the same age (average difference in income being $14,000) and fewer resources to 

pay for health care services; 

Whereas Medicare covers important preventive and health 

maintenance services, including vaccinations, prostate 
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and mammography screening, bone mass measurement, 

and glaucoma screening; 

Whereas Medicare has achieved its major purpose of providing access for the elderly and individuals with disabilities to needed health care such that nearly 98 percent 

of elderly adults report that they have access to needed 

health care; 

Whereas elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied 

with their coverage than privately insured nonelderly 

adults and Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to rate 

their health insurance coverage as ‘‘very good’’ or ‘‘excellent’’ and to report they were very satisfied with the care 

they received; and 

Whereas Medicare is a remarkably efficient program, with 

administrative costs that average less than 2 percent of 

expenditures compared to about 12 percent in private 

plans and average per capita cost increases below those 

of the private sector, further highlighting its efficiency: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) for the past 40 years, Medicare has made 

4 significant medical, social, and economic contribu5 tions to our Nation; 

6 (2) the access to care provided by Medicare has 

7 changed the course of health outcomes for the elder8 ly and those with disabilities, preventing physical de9 terioration and preventing more individuals from 

10 slipping into poverty; and 
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1 (3) Congress must continue to support, 

2 strengthen, and enhance the quality of care in this 

3 vital Federal health insurance program that guaran4 tees all Medicare beneficiaries affordable health care 

5 that meets their needs. 

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