Illinois candidates rally around Medicare on 60th anniversary of signing

Jul

2025

In the News

Illinois candidates rally around Medicare on 60th anniversary of signing

The system that serves as a healthcare safety net for millions of Americans is celebrating six decades. But the celebration comes at a time when the Medicaid and Medicare systems may be facing some challenges.

Sixty years after Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Illinois Senate candidates spent Wednesday touting the program that changed healthcare for millions of Americans.

Among them, senate candidate Raja Krishnamorthi to his opponents Congresswoman Robin Kelly and Illinois Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton.

“When Medicare was first enacted, turning 65 before that meant two things: you get a slice of cake and you get a mountain of debt if you ever have to go to the hospital. Because only one out of every two seniors at the time had health insurance,” Krishnamorthi said.

All three Democrats tackled the issue, aware that President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is expected to cut $1 trillion from the programs over the next decade.

“He cut a lifeline for 17 million Americans. There are real people behind that number,” Kelly said.

“Sixty years later here we are. Healthcare is under threat. That need for bold healthcare continues,” Stratton said.

In Illinois, it’s estimated that 330,000 people could lose Medicaid coverage. Stratton is making this one of the central issues in her campaign. If elected she says she supports Medicare for All. In fact, after her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s years ago, she says she saw first-hand the role these safety-net programs can play in the lives of so many.

“I remember what it was like, at the time they were cutting healthcare for seniors,” she said. “That should not be the case for any Illinoisan.”

While the Democratic candidates praise the 60-year-old program, The Trump Administration argues there’s a need to cut and reduce spending in order to protect Medicare and Medicaid. Congresswoman Kelly fights that argument with the story of a 2-year-old boy who relied on Medicaid to survive a rare genetic condition.

“Republicans are spreading the myth that Medicaid enables laziness and unemployment. His parents work full time. He has made tremendous progress with Medicaid coverage, he is completely off his ventilator and can walk,” she said.

Medicare insures more than 68 million seniors nationwide. The numbers are higher for Medicaid with 71 million low-income people using the program. The cuts that are coming under the Trump administration are expected to be the largest in the program’s 60 years.

By Lourdes Duarte