IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 400 

Commemorating 50 years since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid 

Programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

CLYBURN, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Mr. TONKO, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. NADLER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 

BROWN of Florida, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of 

New Mexico, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. CASTOR of 

Florida, Mr. HIGGINS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. HAHN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LEE, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HUFFMAN, 

Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. FARR, Mr. NEAL, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Ms. BASS, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. GRAYSON, 

Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Mr. WELCH, Ms. ESTY, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 

Mr. HONDA, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 

Ms. MOORE, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 

Mr. SERRANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CARNEY, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. KIND, Mr. POLIS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. 

RUIZ, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

CASTRO of Texas, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ASHFORD, 


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Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. 

SINEMA, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. GARAMENDI, 

Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. MURPHY of 

Florida, Mr. COSTA, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. WALZ, Mr. VELA, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, 

Mr. HECK of Washington, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. KILMER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating 50 years since the creation of the Medicare 

and Medicaid Programs. 

Whereas, on January 7, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson 

called on Congress to provide health insurance for the elderly and most vulnerable; 

Whereas over the past 50 years, Congress has strengthened 

Medicare and Medicaid with improvements to, and expansion of, health care benefits; 

Whereas today, as a result of President Johnson’s call to action and Congress’ bipartisan initiative that created the 

Medicare program, 55,000,000 seniors and people with 

disabilities have access to guaranteed health care benefits; 

Whereas today, more than 71,000,000 Americans, including 

children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, 

elderly who are poor and frail, and low-income adults and 

parents have access to health care through Medicaid; 

Whereas Medicare and Medicaid have been leaders in improving the quality of care delivered to the Nation, resulting 


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in 1,300,000 fewer patient harms, 50,000 lives saved and 

$12 billion in health spending avoided between 2010 and 

2013 alone; 

Whereas Medicare has been an innovator in developing alternative ways to pay for health care that emphasize care 

coordination across all health care providers and settings; 

Whereas Medicare provides access to needed care, including 

primary and specialty care, free preventative services, 

and prescription drugs; 

Whereas the creation of a prescription drug benefit in 2003 

has ensured that nearly 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have prescription drug coverage, and since 2010, 

more than 9,400,000 seniors have saved more than 

$15,000,000,000 on their prescription drugs as a result 

of closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap; 

Whereas, in 2014 alone, an estimated 39,000,000 people with 

Medicare took advantage of at least one preventative 

service with no cost sharing; 

Whereas Medicaid is a critical source of comprehensive, affordable health coverage for millions of otherwise uninsured low-income adults and parents, including millions 

of nonelderly low-income adults in States that expanded 

their Medicaid programs as part of health reform; 

Whereas Medicaid ensures access to long-term services and 

supports for vulnerable low-income seniors and persons 

with disabilities by covering more than 60 percent of 

nursing home residents, picking up the majority of the 

Nation’s total long-term care costs, and allowing loved 

ones to live with health and dignity in their own homes 

and communities; 


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Whereas Medicaid provides early comprehensive childhood 

screening, diagnosis, and treatment for 32,000,000 of the 

Nation’s children, including half of all low-income children; and 

Whereas Medicaid provides crucial services for pregnant 

women and babies in that Medicaid covers 45 percent of 

births nationwide, 53 percent of hospital stays for infants 

born prematurely or with a low birth weight, and 45 percent of hospital stays for infants with birth defects: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) all efforts to improve Medicare and Med4 icaid must support and build upon President John5 son’s vision ‘‘to assure the availability of and acces6 sibility to the best healthcare to all Americans, re7 gardless of age or geography or economic status’’; 

8 (2) Medicare’s guaranteed benefit is a lifeline to 

9 millions of Americans and must remain intact for 

10 this and future generations; 

11 (3) Medicare should not be transformed into a 

12 voucher program, leaving seniors and people with 

13 disabilities vulnerable to higher out-of-pocket costs; 

14 (4) with the strong support of the Federal Gov15 ernment, Medicaid continues to serve as a safety net 

16 for vulnerable children, pregnant women, persons 


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1 with disabilities, elderly who are poor and frail, and 

2 other low-income adults; and 

3 (5) Medicaid should not be dismantled through 

4 block grants, per-capita caps, or by other policies 

5 that slash funding, shift cost to States, reduce bene6 fits, and erode the safety net relied on by over 

7 71,000,000 Americans. 

Æ 


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