“centers for”

agency of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for the prevention and control of disease and for health promotion and education. The CDC was established in Atlanta as the Communicable Disease Center in 1946, charged with preventing the spread of malaria. Under its present name, the agency monitors the spread of all infectious diseases within the U.S. and provides assistance to other countries and agencies in disease prevention and control. It also provides expertise and assistance to other federal, state, local, and private disease prevention agencies. Additionally, it develops and conducts environmental health and general health promotion programs.

agency of the Department of Health and Human Services charged with administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs and certain parts of the Affordable Care Act. Medicare provides health insurance coverage for people age 65 and over, people under 65 who have certain disabilities, and people who are undergoing certain treatments for kidney disease. Medicaid, which is jointly financed by state and federal governments but is administered by the states, covers health-care expenses for needy families, and most states also cover the needy elderly, blind, and disabled who are enrolled in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program as well as eligible children and low-income pregnant women.