Just a few highlights (one from each decade) from this PBS TIMELINE of American healthcare through the decades. Many more interesting details in the timeline itself.
1900s
Doctors are no longer expected to provide free services to all hospital patients. 1910s Opposition from physicians and other interest groups, and the entry of the US into the war in 1917 undermine reform effort. 1920s Reformers now emphasize the cost of medical care instead of wages lost to sickness - the relatively higher cost of medical care is a new and dramatic development, especially for the middle class. 1930s Against the advice of insurance professionals, Blue Cross begins offering private coverage for hospital care in dozens of states. 1940s President Truman offers national health program plan, proposing a single system that would include all of American society.Truman's plan is denounced by the American Medical Association (AMA) , and is called a Communist plot by a House subcommittee.
1950s At the start of the decade, national health care expenditures are 4.5 percent of the Gross National Product (As opposed to 17.9% in 2010*). 1960s "Compulsory Health Insurance" advocates are no longer optimistic'. 1970s President Nixon's plan for national health insurance rejected by liberals & labor unions, but his "War on Cancer" centralizes research at the NIH. 1980s Corporations begin to integrate the hospital system (previously a decentralized structure), enter many other healthcare-related businesses, and consolidate control. Overall, there is a shift toward privatization and corporatization of healthcare. 1990s Federal health care reform legislation fails again to pass in the U.S. Congress. 2000s Changing demographics of the workplace lead many to believe the employer-based system of insurance can't last. *Parenthetical remark added by diarist.These are just a smattering of interesting details about how we got from where we were to where we are. As you can see, footdragging in the medical and insurance professions is a time-honored tradition. We have come a long way. Unfortunately, in many respects our travel was in a circle.
One thing that puzzled me was the rejection of Nixon's plan by liberals and labor unions. This cleared it up for me:
Ted Kennedy often said his biggest political mistake was turning down a health care deal with Richard Nixon, and Kennedy's old lament had Democrats yesterday thinking again about compromise on reform.Kennedy said he turned down the universal health coverage plan offered by the Republican President in the early 1970s because it wasn't everything he wanted it to be. He later realized it was a missed opportunity to make major progress toward his goal.
President Obama was determined not to live with the same regrets. Just imagine, if Nixon's plan had passed, it would have been seen as a monument to bipartisanship by the Republicans of the 1970s.Now, a Democratic president has reconsidered and finally agreed with Nixon (and Romney), just in time to be labeled as an anti-American communist destroyer of America by the monstrous mutation the Republican Party has become. Oh, and pssst, don't say it out loud for God's sake, but... he's black!!
Regardless of how this whole thing turns out, I will be eternally grateful that we learned at least something from our mistakes and that we have someone like President Obama who is willing to have the most foul vitriol heaped upon him in order to begin the slow turn of the U.S. healthcare Titanic away from certain disaster.
Strongly recommend reading the entire timeline. Excerpts don't do it justice.
