Fox Business wished Medicare a happy 50th birthday Thursday by showing just how much the government program has cost over the years.
In the first year after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law, the cost for the program reached $3 billion. In 1967, the federal government looked ahead to 1990 and predicted that Medicare spending would then be around $12 billion -- except they were bout $100 billion off! Actual spending in 1990 was $110 billion.
And the numbers don't get any better from that point. According to the most recent (2014) figures from Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare's cost is a whopping $511 billion. This dramatic amount has many worried that the funds to cover its costs could run out by 2030 -- just 15 years away!
But Harry Reid is praising the program's success and saying he remains committed to keeping Republican's paws off of Medicare (and Obamacare, too!). In a statement from the Nevada Senator:
Our nation is healthier and stronger because Medicare and Medicaid exist. But despite 50 years of undeniable Medicare and Medicaid success, Republicans remain committed to ending access to health care for those who need it the most by attacking Medicare, Medicaid and now the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans have made it clear that they will not relent in their attacks against health care. The Republican radical crusade to overhaul Medicare includes transforming it into a premium support or voucher program and increasing the age of eligibility for seniors all while attempting to balance our nation’s budget by raising costs on seniors.
Medicaid is also on the Republican chopping block. Instead of working to expand Medicaid to those who need it most, Republicans have championed the cause of converting the program into a block grant system or imposing a per capita cap that will mean states can’t keep up with the expenses of medical care.
We should be building on the successes of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act not working to tear them down. As your senior Senator, I remain committed – just as President Johnson was half a century ago – to giving Americans the health care they need by protecting Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Below is video of the stats via Neil Cavuto:
