Robert Ball, Architect of Medicare, Dies in Maryland

Robert Ball -- a "chief architect" of Medicare who administered the program for its first seven years -- died at age 93 on Tuesday at Collington Episcopal Life Care Community in Mitchellville, Md., the Washington Post reports. In the past 25-years, Ball "helped reform and save" Medicare three times, according to the Post. In addition, he drafted the Kennedy-Mills bill, which proposed expanding health insurance to all U.S. residents. Ball also served as commissioner of Social Security from 1962 to 1973 (Sullivan, Washington Post, 1/31). Ball was interviewed as part of a Kaiser Family Foundation documentary series to mark the 40th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. The interview, available online, includes Ball's assessment of the social and economic climate of the country prior to the enactment of Medicare.