Happy Birthday Medicare and Medicaid!
Usually, when someone celebrates a birthday, you tell them how young they look.
In fact, my Mom has been getting younger every year on her birthday!
In your case, dear Medicare and Medicaid, you not only look your 50 years of age, you actually look quite a bit older; worn out and haggard.
You see, in 1965, we were a nation on the march, we were moving forward with excitement and hope and there was nary a thing we couldn’t accomplish.
We had just recently conquered the moon and Neil Armstrong was the hero and role model of the day, not Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson gave out the very first Medicare card to his presidential colleague, Harry S. Truman.
Since that time, we have borne witness to incredible advancements in the field of medicine and healthcare technology.
I know this. In fact, I see this demonstrated every day at Regency Nursing Centers.
Medicare has also grown into an albatross, with CMS predicting a rise of 7.3 percent in Medicare enrollments (courtesy of the baby boomers who are living longer than ever) by 2024.
Still, it hasn’t been a smooth ride, not by a long shot.
There are still allot of holes, deformities and deficiencies with the ‘system.’
What will the ‘Accountable Care Act’ look like in 50 years from now?
Who knows.
How many iterations and how many permutations will we continue to see in our lifetime as Medicare morphs and evolves?
What about all the folks who do not conform to the system, due to the way in which it is currently constituted?
How can they afford healthcare?
Will they every be able to afford healthcare?
Nobody knows.
In the meantime, Happy Birthday Medicare and Medicaid.
You like every bit of your age; 50 going on 100.
