FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Gov. Whitmer, Lt. Gov Gilchrist Statements on 60th Anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare
Lifesaving health care programs that have lowered costs, grown the economy over six decades now under greatest threat in their history
LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II issued the following statements on the 60th anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare. Combined, these programs cover more than 1 in 3 Americans, including 67 million older adults and people with disabilities, and half of all children. Recently, Republicans in Washington, D.C. passed the largest cut to health care in American history, which will kick millions of people off their health care.
Governor Whitmer Statement
“Medicare and Medicaid have made a huge difference in the lives of generations of Americans, and as we celebrate their 60th anniversary, both programs are under attack, threatening the health and wellbeing of our family, friends, and neighbors. Here in Michigan, we will work to protect access to quality, affordable health care.
“A few weeks ago, Republicans in Washington passed and signed into law the largest cut to health care ever, a move that will kick hundreds of thousands of Michiganders off their health care, increase hunger, worsen poverty, and jack up costs for everyone even if they do not use Medicaid or Medicare.
“Together, these programs cover millions of Michiganders, including 3 in 5 nursing home residents and nearly half the births in the state. The programs have successfully driven our uninsured rate to one of the lowest in the nation, reduced poverty, and improved the health of Michiganders.
“Today, as we commemorate six decades of these lifesaving programs, we should honor the historic role that Michiganders like Representative John Dingell, who presided over the U.S. House as they passed Medicare, played to protect and expand health care.
“Let’s continue taking action to lower costs for families and expand access to quality, affordable health care.”
Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist Statement
“Throughout their six-decade existence, Medicare and Medicaid have helped countless Americans access quality, affordable health care, raise their families, and live healthy, prosperous lives. Medicare and Medicaid have made a difference for working families, seniors, and kids across our state.
“These vital programs have proven time and time again that government works best when it works to make a difference and solve problems for everyone. Our nation succeeds when it makes bold investments in the well-being of its citizens.
“As Republicans in Washington and Michigan attack access to health care, Governor Whitmer and I will continue to Stand Tall for lower costs and accessible, affordable health care for generations to come.”
Medicare & Medicaid in Michigan
- The past:
- Michigan Medicaid launched in 1966 and quickly enrolled about 600,000 residents.
- Expanded to cover pregnant women and children in the 1980s.
- Covered over 1.8 million Michigan residents by 2010.
- Healthy Michigan Plan added about 700,000 adults starting in 2014.
- Cut the uninsured rate among children to under 3% by 2020.
- The present:
- Reduces uncompensated care and sustains Michigan’s health care workforce.
- Serves as a vital lifeline for rural and vulnerable communities.
- Coverage for more than 2.6 million Michigan residents.
- 1 million children.
- 300,000 people with disabilities.
- 168,000 seniors.
- Coverage for 1 in 4 Michiganders.
- Coverage for 3 in 5 nursing home residents.
- Covers 40-45% of state’s births.
- Medicare ensures Michiganders in rural areas have access to care—accounting for 50% of revenue for hospitals in rural areas.
Key Numbers About the Recently Passed One Big, Beautiful Bill
- Will lead to loss of health care coverage for 14 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Michiganders.
- Cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid to deliver a $1 trillion tax cut for the rich.
- Adds $3.4 trillion to the national deficit.
Medicaid and Medicare Save Lives, Lower Costs, Grow our Economy
- Medicare
- Before Medicare, only 56% of people 65 and over had health insurance—while 75% of people under 65 had health insurance.
- Before Medicare, 35% of people aged 65 and over lived in poverty. Today, that number has reduced to 10.2%.
- Former President Harry S. Truman—who had long advocated for national health insurance—enrolled as Medicare’s first beneficiary.
- In just the first year of Medicare, over 19 million people over the age of 65 enrolled in the program, increasing access to care by one-third and decreasing poverty among older and disabled Americans by nearly two-thirds.
- Today, the uninsured rate for seniors is about 1%, down from 48% in 1963.
- The expansion of Medicare in 1973 led to coverage for 9.1 million Americans with disabilities under age 65, totaling 16% of all beneficiaries.
- Medicare spending accounts for 3.3% of GDP, totaling $489 billion in economic impact.
- The cost of out-of-pocket spending on insulin has been reduced to $35 per month/prescription under Medicare.
- Medicaid
- Roughly 5-20% of the mortality disparity between high- and low-income Americans are due to a lack of health insurance. States with Medicaid, compared to states without it, saw a 20% reduction in their citizens’ risk of death.
- Individuals who were covered by Medicaid through expansions under the Affordable Care Act, were 21% less likely to die than their peers without health care coverage.
- Medicaid costs 30% less for adults and 10% less for children than private insurers, keeping more money in people’s pockets.
- Medicaid saves just as many lives as seatbelts, 7,5000 lives were saved in expansion states and 5,830 lives would have been saved in non-expansion states.
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