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Framer Remembers the Origins of Medicare

NPR

By Joanne Silberner

Published July 29, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

The Medicare program that helps the elderly and disabled pay their medical bills turns 40. The legislation was decades in the making, and the final bill was written in just two days, a result of compromises and expediencies. Many health planners feared it would fall apart. But it has become one of the most popular government programs ever.

Copyright 2005 NPR

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Joanne Silberner

Joanne Silberner is a health policy correspondent for National Public Radio. She covers medicine, health reform, and changes in the health care marketplace.

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