Dive Brief:
- Medicare, which was signed into law in 1965, had 19.1 million enrollees in 1966. By 2012, that number mushroomed to 52 million.
- The 3-million-person increase since 2012 represents Baby Boomers starting to retire, government officials say.
- CMS also released state-by-state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) numbers. As of May, there were more than 71 million beneficiaries, with an additional 12.8 million just since 2013.
Dive Insight:
"Over the last 50 years, Medicare has become part of the fabric of our communities, protecting the well-being and financial security of millions of American families as they age or if they become disabled in doing so, Medicare has kept up with dramatic demographic changes and led the charge toward improving health care delivery," Andy Slavitt, CMS acting administrator, said Wednesday. "As we preserve and advance Medicare for future generations we are focused on helping build a better system with smarter spending that keeps people healthier."
A recent opinion poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that the majority of people want to keep Medicare as is, without replacing it with vouchers or other premium support. Close to 90% of those using Medicare and Medicaid reported positive experiences. Most participants wanted to improve Medicare's finances, with 60% okay with raising premiums for wealthier seniors.