A Story of Change - Medicare & Medicaid

Let's all eat an elephant one piece at a time...

When I was a child, anxiety felt like a shadow I couldn’t outrun.

Growing up as a Black girl in Connecticut—especially in a time when low-to-middle-class Black girlhood was overlooked, unseen, and undervalued—I often felt like I was slipping into the void.

You spend so much time proving you belong in the room that it drains you.

The constant effort to be seen, to be heard, to be considered… it’s exhausting.

Racing thoughts. Heavy emotions.

A paralyzing need to achieve—because failure isn’t an option.

My Mother’s Question That Grounded Me

Whenever I found myself spiraling, my mother would pull me aside, lower her voice, and ask:

"Faith, how do you eat an elephant?"

Even as a child, I knew the answer.

"One bite at a time."

Now, obviously, no one is out here eating elephants, nor would I want to.

But that question always brought me back to myself.

It forced me to stop drowning in the big picture and start seeing the steps in front of me.

One bite at a time. One step at a time.

That lesson stuck with me.

Black girl eating an elephant one bite at a time

Breaking Down Big Ideas: The Story of Medicare & Medicaid

And I’m reminded of it every time I try to explain the history of Medicare and Medicaid—because this is a story that needs to be broken down piece by piece,

Or rather dose by dose.

I didn’t fully understand its impact until my 3rd year of medical school.

Learning this history shook me.

The years 1964 and 1965 stood out to me—not just as moments in time, but as personal milestones.

As those were the years my parents were born.

That meant that I was the first generation in my family born under Medicare and Medicaid.

The first to grow up in a world where hospitals were desegregated.

The first to assume that walking through the front doors of a hospital as a Black physician was normal—when, in reality, it was a privilege that had been fought for.

Because the truth is, most people don’t know the fight it took for Black physicians to be treated as equals.

The Forgotten Fight of Black Physicians

We talk about Jim Crow and how Black patients were barred from white hospitals—but what about Black doctors?

Where did we go?

Where were we allowed to train, to practice, to heal?

So much of our history has been swallowed by the void.

But not today.

Today, we bring this story forward.

For many Black physicians and healthcare providers, the names of those who fought for change are familiar—if you dare to study beyond your anatomy and physiology textbooks.

But to the greater world, they are unknown.

And that’s exactly why I want to share them with you.

How the story of Change in Healthcare Will Unfold

This is how Lesson Three will be given dose by dose:

🔹 The Story of Medicare & Medicaid – The Presidents Who Changed History
🔹 The Story of Medicare & Medicaid – The Lone Black Doctor Who Demanded Change
🔹 The Story of Medicare & Medicaid – How Black Health Changed for the Better
🔹 The Story of Medicare & Medicaid – The Evolution of a System That Keeps Changing
🔹 The Story of Medicare & Medicaid – How We Have Shortchanged the Fight for Health Equity

Yes, this is a mini-lesson within a lesson. But if we’re going to truly understand this history, we have to break it down—dose by dose.

So throughout the week, these lessons will land directly in your inbox.

Ready for you to engage with the story, and take away something new.

I’m excited to share this with you.

To change the way this history is taught.

To make sure we never forget.

And if this is your first time seeing my post or email—welcome to The Dose Squad.

You’re right on time!

See you in class !

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