Operation Coffee Cup - Definition and Overview

Operation Coffee Cup was a stealth campaign by the American Medical Association (AMA) conducted in the late 1950s and early 1960s in order to derail plans by Democrats to extend Social Security to include health insurance for the elderly, later known as Medicare. As part of the plan, doctors' wifes would organize coffee meetings in an attempt to convince acquaintances to write letters to Congress, opposing the program. The operation received support from Ronald Reagan who produced a record album for the AMA outlining arguments against what he called "socialized medicine". This record would be played at the coffee meetings.

The operation was described in 1999 by politcal scientist Max Skidmore.

References

• Max J. Skidmore: Social Security and Its Enemies, Westview Press, 1999
• Letter to participants, Reagan's recordings (http://texasbestgrok.mu.nu/archives/038360.php)