Johnson's Health-Care Program.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program proposed far-reaching legislation on health care, the backbone of which was the Medicare program. Medicare was enacted in a bill signed in 1965 that extended social-security insurance to cover medical expenses for all citizens over 65 years of age. The program, which went into effect on 1 July 1966, was voluntary, but estimates were that 850–95 percent of those eligible would participate. Funding came from increased payroll taxes.

The Design of Medicare.

Medicare has had two different parts since its inception. Part A covers hospitalization, outpatient diagnostic services, home-nursing services, and nursing-home care. Part B can be added voluntarily to cover doctor's fees and drug costs as well as other incidentals; it cost three dollars per month in 1966. The program was designed to be managed by Blue Cross or a similar organization that would pay hospitals and physicians...