when johnson took office many aging adults and those living paycheck to paycheck or living below the federal poverty level in the u s lacked any health insurance when johnson became the president the medicare and medicaid programs became part of u s law 
the great society contributed to an increase in life expectancies from 66 6 years for men and 73 1 for women years in 1964 to 73 2 and 79 1 respectively in 2021 45medicare helped to provide coverage for hospital and physician visits for aging adults the medicaid program helped cover healthcare costs for those suffering from poverty and receiving assistance from the government 6project head start began as an eight week summer camp it was operated by the office of economic opportunity and 500 000 children aged from three to five received preschool education 7in 1965 the elementary and secondary education act was passed which guaranteed federal funding for education in school districts where the majority of students were living in low income households 8johnson also created additional support for the arts and humanities by signing the national foundation on the arts and humanities act in 1965 9various environmental initiatives set water quality standards and vehicle emission standards laws were also passed to create scenic trails and protect wildlife rivers and historic landmarks project head start which began under president johnson supports children s growth in a positive learning environment through various services from early development educational development to overall family health today head start programs reach over a million children every year in the united states 10the great society established several laws and agencies to protect u s consumers in 1972 the consumer product safety commission cpsc was formed to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products 11the cpsc creates and enforces standards restricts unsafe consumer products oversees the recall and replacement of products and provides education on consumer safety most products except for motor vehicles food drugs alcohol tobacco and firearms fall under the jurisdiction of the consumer product safety commission the great society also established the child protection act of 1966 to protect children from dangerous toys and products under the act the federal government possesses the authority to define potential hazards and issue warning labels on hazardous toys and household items 12the legacy of the great societygreat society policies also focused on urban renewal following world war ii many major cities were in poor condition and affordable housing was hard to find particularly for the disadvantaged and underprivileged the housing and urban development act of 1965 provided federal funds to cities to invest in urban development that met minimum housing standards 13 the act provided better access to home mortgages and a rent subsidy program johnson s great society policies birthed medicare medicaid the older americans act and the elementary and secondary education act esea of 1965 all of which remain government programs in 2021 in addition johnson s policies helped create the national endowment for the humanities and the national endowment for the arts to support and fund cultural institutions necessary for a healthy society these programs fund and support libraries public television and radio museums and archives the great society programs and policies inspire educate and lift americans out of poverty decades after they were put into place special considerationsjohnson s government funded programs aimed to reduce poverty and improve society and his initiatives increased education levels and reduced inequality among americans unfortunately some of johnson s efforts were overshadowed by the vietnam war as the conflict waged on johnson was forced to divert funds to promote education and help underprivileged members of society to the war that claimed over 58 000 american lives 14 america s involvement in vietnam tarnished johnson s reputation despite his efforts to improve life for millions of americans 