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July 30, 2025, marked 60 years of Medicare in the United States. The historic legislation was signed into law at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.
President Lyndon B. Johnson chose to sign the landmark healthcare legislation at the Truman Library in 1965, giving credit to former President Harry Truman for his earlier efforts to establish national health insurance.
"We wanted the entire world to know that we haven't forgotten who is the real daddy of Medicare," Johnson said before issuing the Trumans their Medicare cards.
Mark Adams, Truman Library and Museum director, noted the unusual nature of the signing location.
"It's really unusual. Most of the time, it's in Washington, D.C., it's in the Oval Office," Adams said.
Visitors to the Independence museum on Wednesday got a glimpse of history, including the Medicare cards issued to Harry and Bess Truman, who became the first couple to receive them.
Linda McGinnis, a visitor to the Truman Library, expressed her support for the program.
"I am a real Medicare fan. I think it's a wonderful thing," McGinnis said.
However, some visitors expressed concerns about recent changes to the Medicare program in legislation passed under the Trump administration.
"I think it's criminal. I think it's horrible," McGinnis said.
Stephen Perkins, another Truman Library visitor, shared similar concerns.
"It isn't just a mere matter of more people unjustly lacking reasonable healthcare, but will further increase poverty and increase the divide in our nation," Perkins said.
Members of the LBJ Foundation were at the Truman Library to mark the anniversary. Mark Updegrove, the foundation's president and CEO, suggested President Johnson would not approve of recent changes to the programs.
"I think he would be disconsolate," Updegrove said. "I think he would think the legislation that recently went into place would be disadvantageous to so many Americans who count on Medicare and, in particular, Medicaid."
Many supporters of the programs hope they aren't witnessing both the beginning and potential end of these historic healthcare initiatives.
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