On this day in 1965,  President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 into law. This act is notable because provisions within it created Medicare and Medicaid.

Social Security Amendments of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-97, 79 Stat. 286 (1965) (full-text of act).

For more information on the Social Security Amendments of 1965, consult the following online sources:

• History of SSA During the Johnson Administration 1963-1968 (Social Security Administration)
• Vote Tallies for Passage of Medicare in 1965 (Social Security Administration)
• Legislative Histories 1935 – 2004 (Social Security Administration)
• The History of Medicare (Social Security Administration)

We also have several books in the Law Library that cover this act.

• Medicare and Medicaid:the 1965 and 1967 Social Security Amendments, by Margaret Greenfield
• Medicare, the Social Security Amendments of 1965: Special Report, by American Psychological Association