Medicare (United States)

A federal social health insurance program in the United States, established when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, primarily covering Americans aged 65 and older along with some younger people with qualifying disabilities or end-stage renal disease. It is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and financed through a combination of payroll taxes, premiums and general federal revenue, covering hospital care, outpatient medical services, and, since a 2003 expansion, prescription drug benefits. Medicare covered more than 65 million beneficiaries by the early 2020s and is widely credited by health economists with sharply reducing poverty among the elderly and dramatically improving their access to hospital and physician care since its creation, when a large share of older Americans had previously gone without health insurance.