Our population was getting older and broker.
Between 1900 and 1950, the number of senior citizens in America had grown from 3 million to 12 million. Only 1 in 8 had health insurance. Only 1 in 3 made more than $1,000 a year. By 1963, the population over 65 years old had risen to 17 million.
These were the conditions that gave birth to Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. And while Republicans in the House were not thrilled at the time about Democrats' effort to expand the New Deal — a deal the party didn't like in the first place — they drafted legislation of their own to address the growing problem.
