Medicare at 60: Two presidents, one vision for a healthier America

July 30, 2025, marks the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing into law the Medicare and Medicaid Act.

It was landmark legislation that would change the American health care system by offering a form of health insurance to older people and those with disabilities. Medicare and Medicaid remain highly influential in the nation’s health care finance and policy and, of course, patient health.

Johnson had a signing ceremony to celebrate the bill — but not at the White House, not in Washington, D.C. Instead, he traveled to Independence, Missouri, as a tribute to his predecessor, political ally and friend: President Harry S. Truman.

Long before he became “Give ’em hell, Harry!” on the presidential campaign trail, health care was an issue that resonated with Truman as a soldier and veteran of World War I, a candidate and an elected official. World War II also showed the importance of health care, not just to treat wounded defenders of democracy. Americans had to be healthy as a matter of national security, or the nation would not be in the fight.

After the war, Truman began planting the seeds for a national health insurance program and the need for real reform within the American health care system. Later, Harry and Bess Truman would get the nation’s first and second Medicare cards.

For this video, Medical Economics spoke to two Truman experts to explore his ideas and influence, starting in 1945, 20 years before Johnson, Truman, their wives and supporters gathered for the bill signing ceremony.

Clifton Truman Daniel is the eldest grandson of Harry and Bess Truman and honorary chair of the Truman Library Institute. He has written a memoir about growing up as the president’s grandson, edited a volume of the president and first lady’s letters to each other, and portrayed his grandfather on stage in the play “Give ’em Hell, Harry!” by Samuel Gallu.

Mark Adams is the director of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and an ex officio member of the Truman Library Institute board.

Historic images are presented courtesy of the Truman Library Institute and the National Archives.