Health Care History

History of Medicare

In 1969, Peter A. Corning, a journalist and Ph.D. candidate at New York University, completed a contract with SSA's Office of Research and Statistics for a history of developments in health insurance leading up to the passage of Medicare in 1965. Mr. Corning's history is a very accessible, highly-readable account of Medicare in the broader historical context of social insurance in America. It is being republished here for the first time since 1969.

Appendix A: Chronology of Significant Events Leading to Enactment of Medicare

Oral Histories