ALPENA — Wednesday marked the 60th anniversary for Medicaid.

Medicaid was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The program provides health insurance to low-income seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

“Medicaid has protected the health and well-being of tens of millions of Michigan residents and improved the state’s economic security,” Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, said in a press release. “It is the backbone of our health care system and has been proven to improve health outcomes, reduce poverty, and support working families, children, older adults, and people with disabilities.”

According to the release, MDHHS is responsible for overseeing the Medicaid program in Michigan in partnership with the federal government. More than 2.6 million Michigan residents are enrolled in Medicaid, including nearly one million children, 168,000 seniors, and 300,000 people living with disabilities.

Sixty years ago, President Johnson traveled to Independence, Missouri, the hometown of President Harry S. Truman, to sign Medicaid legislation, according to the release. Truman had pushed for the concept for two decades. Michigan Congressman John Dingell, Jr., who led the legislation and whose father, John Dingell, Sr., had worked to improve access to health care for America’s elderly and disadvantaged.

“I am proud of the role that my husband Congressman John Dingell played when it was passed,” Congresswoman Debbie Dingell stated in the release. “He was one of the leaders of the bill and he was key to expanding it when we passed the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIPS, and the Affordable Care Act. On this anniversary, I want to recommit myself to continuing the fight to protect and strengthen Medicaid for the millions of people who rely on it. To make sure if you are sick you have what you need to take care of yourself, the medicine you need, and for all of us to be the voice for some who do not have one.”

When signing the legislation, the release states that Johnson quoted Truman, who 20 years prior had said, “Millions of our citizens do not have the full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection.”

After noting that it took a long time to achieve, Johnson said, “The benefits under the law are as varied and broad as the marvelous modern medicine itself,” according to the release.

The release states that Michigan Medicaid officially launched in 1966 and enrolled 600,000 residents and expanded to cover pregnant women and children in the 1980s. By 2010, MDHHS reports that 1.8 million Michigan residents were covered by Michigan Medicaid.

Currently, MDHHS reports that Michigan Medicaid covers 1 in 4 residents, 3 in 5 Michigan nursing home residents, 40 to 45% of Michigan births.

As of MDHHS’s June Medicaid report, 5,097 people in Alpena County were enrolled in one of the following plans: Blue Cross Complete of Michigan (1,066), Priority Health Choice (1,091), Molina Healthcare of Michigan (918), or McLaren Health Plan (681).

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.