2025 marks the 60th anniversary of three foundational programs—Medicaid, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act—that have long served as pillars of our nation’s social contract. On July 30th, 2025, the Academy was honored to bring friends and social insurance champions together to ground ourselves in the history of the programs, to center what these programs mean to people’s daily lives, and to recommit to unfinished work ahead at a time when the very notion of collective care is at a crossroads.
This event was held in partnership with the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families at the McCourt School of Public Policy and the Commonwealth Fund.
The program included the following panels and speakers:
- Opening Remarks – Rebecca Vallas (National Academy of Social Insurance) & Joan Alker (Center for Children and Families at the McCourt School of Public Policy)
- Looking Back: Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act at 60 – Tricia Neuman (KFF), Bob Blancato (Matz, Blancato, & Associates), Connie Garner (Garner Strategies), Elena Hung (Little Lobbyists), Stuart Butler (Brookings Institution), & Ryann Hill (Indigo Hill Strategies)
- Remarks – Merrill Friedman (National Academy of Social Insurance Board of Directors)
- Looking Forward: Where We Go From Here – Leanne Clark-Shirley (American Society on Aging), Henry Claypool (Lurie Institute on Disability Policy at Brandeis University), Alison Barkoff (George Washington University), Robert Espinoza (National Academy of Social Insurance), Kevin Prindiville (Justice in Aging), & Daniel Wilson (National Coalition on Aging)
- Reflections from Philanthropic Leaders on the Road Ahead – Gretchen Jacobson (Commonwealth Fund), Rani Snyder (The John A. Hartford Foundation), & Narda Ipakchi (The SCAN Foundation)