Medicare and Dialysis (IMAGE) Brown University Caption Dialysis and drugs to control anemia became one of Medicare’s biggest costs after 1972, when the program expanded to care for anyone in the country who needed treatment, regardless of age. Credit Mike Cohea/Brown University Usage Restrictions with credit License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.