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Framer Remembers the Origins of Medicare

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

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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