Opinion: A half century of Medicare and Medicaid

For many generations, government health programs were viewed as pariahs. As noted by Professor Julian Zelizer in his essay "Origins, Vision and the Challenge of Implementation," "the struggle leading up to the passage of Medicare and Medicaid was nothing short of explosive … as proposing health insurance was viewed as the third rail of politics." Attempts by President Truman were fought bitterly by the AMA and Republicans in Congress.