President Johnson Signs Medicare into Law, 1965 On July 30, 1965, President Johnson signed the Medicare bill, the health insurance program for elderly Americans. Theceremony took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, and former President Harry S. Truman received the first Medicare card. In 1945, Truman had first proposed national health insurance, but Congress rejected it. Standing to the right immediately behind Johnson (seated on the left) and Truman (seated on the right) are (from left to right) Lady Bird Johnson, the president’s wife; Vice President Hubert Humphrey; and Bess Truman, the former president’s wife.
LBJ Library photo