DNC on the 56th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement on July 30, 2021:

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DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNC Seniors Council Chair Steve Regenstreif released the following statement on the 56th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson signing Medicare and Medicaid into law.

"56 years ago, Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, and forever changed the health care landscape in America. Not only have these programs provided a critical lifeline for seniors, families, women, children, people with disabilities, and Americans at all stages in life, but they made our nation stronger. Since then, Democrats have continued to deliver on making health care more accessible, affordable, and equitable. We enacted the Affordable Care Act, reducing cost-sharing for prescription drugs, providing free preventive services, expanding Medicaid coverage, and providing new options for home- and community-based long-term services.

"But even as we take time to celebrate what we have accomplished, we know there is more to do. We must continue defending access to the care the American people depend on from Republican efforts to undermine it. We know we can make Medicare and Medicaid even stronger by building upon their foundations.

"The experience of the past year underscored even more clearly what Democrats have long known: health care is a human right. And as we mark today's anniversaries, we vow to continue fighting to make Medicare and Medicaid even stronger for those who rely on them today and for generations to come."