Half Century – Half Measure?
Last November I turned fifty. In a burst of youthful energy I jetted to the West Coast for a party and back to the East Coast for a celebration all in a 24-hour period. Sure it’s just a number, but milestones are opportunities to look back and to look forward. Today, July 30, marks another half century milestone – the anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. Like me, it’s showing its age and needs some fine tuning. President Johnson said at the bill signing: “No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts." Despite the noble goal, according to CNBC medical bills are the num