Cover courtesy of Oxford University Press.

This volume, just released from Oxford, takes a long hard look at the two primary safety nets in place to protect the aged and the indigent in the United States (Medicaid in place for low-income households and Medicare the foundational insurance coverage for those 65 and older). Here, Cohen and co-editors analyze where these programs have been and where they are taking us in the wake of the Affordable Care Act and universal healthcare reform. After reading only a few pages of the text, it’s obvious that the lives of all Americans are wrapped up in these two vast social programs that command such hefty tax-funded budgets while providing security for the nation’s most fragile populations. In turn, it’s the duty of the collective citizenry to reach a basic understanding of the Medicaid-Medicare impact on future generations. For this reason alone, Medicare and Medicaid At 50 is required reading.