Kerr-Mills Act creates Medical Assistance for the Aged precursor to Medicaid

President Eisenhower signs the Social Security Amendments of 1960, including the Kerr-Mills Act (P.L. 86-778), which creates Medical Assistance for the Aged (MAA), the direct legislative predecessor to Medicaid. The law provides federal matching funds to states to cover medical costs for low-income elderly Americans, but participation is optional. By 1965, only 40 states participate. The program's structure and federal-state matching approach becomes the template Wilbur Cohen uses to design Medicaid five years later.