Americans have a past of fleeing their homeland, forging new lands, and taking on the unknown. But, as the world changes, American’s are relying less on themselves to provide for their families and more on the federal government. Because of this, the government has created many social welfare programs, one of which is Medicaid. Medicaid is a government program that provides money to people who are unable to pay for regular medical care (Merriam-Webster). The purpose of the program is to ensure better care, healthier people, and smarter spending (CMS). Every program has been created under certain conditions, and Medicaid is not an outlier. When Medicaid was created in 1965, it was done so by President Lyndon B. Johnson by passing an amendment to the Social Security Act called the Medicare amendment with the …show more content…
This amendment can now help those who meet the following circumstances: low-income children, caretaker relatives, the elderly, the blind, and those whom have disabilities. The man behind the curtain who advocated for Medicaid is a man by the name Harry S. Truman who was present at the signing of the bill in Independence, Missouri to officially make Medicaid Title 19 of the Social Security Act. Just a few days after the official signing of the bill, Medicaid becomes a program of which states can voluntarily participate to receive grants for those that are eligible for the program, creating a federal-state partnership. On January 23, 1967, Medicaid underwent its first major change which is called the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) for any persons under the age of 21. The purpose of this is "to discover, as early as possible, the ills that handicap our children" and to provide "continuing follow up and treatment so that handicaps do not go neglected" (HRSA). Five years