III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 25 

Commemorating 50 years since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid 

Programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2015 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HEITKAMP, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. 

MCCASKILL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, 

Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TESTER, Mr. UDALL, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. MANCHIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance 

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; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 25 IS 

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

Medicare program, 54,000,000 seniors and people with 

disabilities have access to guaranteed health care benefits; 

Whereas today, 68,000,000 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 

in 1,300,000 fewer infections, accidents or other adverse 

events and avoiding 150,000 unnecessary hospital readmissions; 

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, 

over 8,200,000 seniors have saved more than 

$11,500,000,000 on their prescription drugs as a result 

of closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap; 

Whereas in 2013, an estimated 37,200,000 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 uninVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Jan 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR25.IS SR25

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 25 IS 

sured 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 60 percent of nursing home 

residents, picking up 40 percent of the Nation’s longterm care costs, and allowing loved ones to live with 

health and dignity in their own homes and communities; 

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 Senate that— 

2 (1) all efforts to improve Medicare and Med3 icaid must support and build upon President John4 son’s vision ‘‘to assure the availability of and acces5 sibility to the best healthcare to all Americans, re6 gardless of age or geography or economic status’’; 

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

8 millions of Americans and must remain intact for 

9 this and future generations; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 25 IS 

1 (3) Medicare should not be transformed into a 

2 voucher program, leaving seniors and people with 

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

4 (4) with the strong support of the Federal Gov5 ernment, Medicaid continues to serve as a safety net 

6 for vulnerable children, pregnant women, persons 

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

8 other low income adults; and 

9 (5) Medicaid should not be dismantled through 

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

11 that slash funding, shift cost to states, reduce bene12 fits, and erode the safety net relied on by over 

13 68,000,000 Americans. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS