The contentious origins of Medicare and Medicaid / Julian E. Zelizer -- Civil rights and Medicare : historical convergence and continuing legacy / David Barton Smith -- The early days of Medicaid and Medicare : a personal reflection / Rashi Fein -- The road not taken : what happened to Medicare...

We examine the effect of publicly provided health care on welfare by combining local level data on public health care, and individual level data on life satisfaction. It is shown that relatively high expenditures in health care have a positive effect on individuals' life satisfaction in our...