Cheers to 59 Years of Medicare and Medicaid: Illuminating the Path Ahead

Serving a combined 150 million people in the U.S., ranging from seniors to infants and including adults, children, and people with disabilities, Medicare and Medicaid provide crucial access to care, improving health outcomes when compared to those who are uninsured. As we celebrate nearly 60 years of these programs, it is time to uplift the strides made in health care and coverage over the decades and illuminate the path ahead.

Protecting Medicaid (Families USA Action) 

• Fact Sheet 
• Sample Social

Medicaid Unwinding

• It’s Time to Reform Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment
• The Untold Toll of Medicaid Unwinding
• One Year into Medicaid Unwinding: Where Do We Go Now?

While many states are making improvements to coverage options for children and families, too many have failed in their implementation of Medicaid unwinding. Millions of adults and children this year have lost their coverage, many of whom were eligible, but were kicked off due to bureaucratic red tape in their states. With Medicaid covering more than 40% of all births and people up to 12-months postpartum — critical stages for ensuring good health outcomes and quality of life — it is vital that the people who need it most continue to have access to it.

Encouraging Reforms in Medicare Advantage (MA)

• Consumer, Provider, And Advocacy Groups Sign-On To Support HHS Reforms To The Medicare Advantage Program

Medicare now serves more than 80% of adults over the age of 65, and the Medicare Advantage (MA) population continues to grow with 50% of beneficiaries now enrolled in MA. With so many people covered it is more important than ever to ensure that this program is operated with the best interests of its people in mind. This means reining in pricing abuses and ensuring oversight to stop systematic upcoding and overcharging for procedures.

Oral Health

• Oral Health Care’s Equity Conundrum — Essential for All, Out of Reach for Many

Oral health is a crucial part of overall health and wellness, yet many skip routine dental health appointments and necessary procedures because the cost is just too high. In recent years, states have increased oral health benefits through Medicaid, but we need Congress to continue to act and push for increased oral health spending. Through the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), coverage for dental conditions through Medicare has been expanded, allowing for more options for treatment, and ensuring older adults don’t have to choose between necessary procedures for fear that they can only afford one.

Protecting Reforms in Medicare to Lower Drug Prices (Families USA Action)

• Fact Sheet
• Sample Social

Through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) significant reforms are being made to prescription drug plans, specifically Part D plans under Medicare. Due to the IRA, there are now caps on the cost of insulin, reductions in drug pricing saving people hundreds of dollars per dose, and free vaccines. These reforms will continue to lower the cost of prescription drugs over time, and millions of older adults will save money when negotiated prices of the first ten drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation program go into effect in 2026.

We encourage our fellow advocates to use this time to share resources about the value of Medicare and Medicaid, and the importance of continued improvement to promote the best health outcomes of the populations they serve. Please share any of the resources below with your networks through digital newsletters, social media, and more!

Interested in FUSA’s position on an issue? Please check out our Resources page for past publications, blog posts, comments and statements, you can filter by issue for easy browsing. Or, read our official statements in our Newsroom.