|
|
In 1960, the Kerr-Mills Act passed, providing federal funds to states to cover the “medically needy.” Another piece of legislation, the King-Anderson bill, was introduced, and proposed covering some medical expenses for the elderly. The King-Anderson bill ultimately failed, but was seen as a predecessor to Medicare. In 1961, a newly-conservative Ronald Reagan — at the time still an actor — joined a PR push by the American Medical Association against “socialized medicine.” “If you don’t [write your senator in opposition to King-Anderson], this program, I promise you, will pass just as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow, and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country,” Reagan said, “until one day… we will wake to find that we have socialism. And if you don’t do this and I don’t do this, one of these days we are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.” |
