Social Security Amendments of 1965: Importance to Farm and Rural People

Excerpts from the Introduction: The social security amendments signed into law by President Johnson, July 30, 1965, affect nearly all people in the United States and will result in increased annual expenditures of about $6.5 billion. A program to finance hospital and other health services for nearly 19 million people, 65 years old and over, is the most publicized feature of the law. This broad program of health insurance is popularly known as "Medicare." Farm people will benefit greatly from the new law. A higher proportion of them than of nonfarm people are 65 years old or over, or are in the 55-64-year-old group that will be age 65 within 10 years. These two age groups include an estimated 2.5 million farm people. Rural nonfarm people of these ages, including many retired farmers, number nearly another 7.5 million. The law establishes two coordinated health-insurance plans: (1) A basic plan providing financial help in meeting costs of hospital and related care, and (2) a voluntary supplemental plan providing financing for physicians' services and other medical and health services.