The History of Health Care in the United States Pre-1965

Abstract

During our nascent American nation’s history, the medical profession established and consolidated medical authority over other healing practitioners. With the profession’s stringent adherence to the scientific method, remarkable medical progress, health improvements, and life expectancy have been achieved in just the last century. However, with improvements in medical technology and care, medical services which were once a relative luxury that provided more comfort and less healing became a necessity and, to many, a human right. Such a shift in medicine accompanied by its continually rising costs made the issues of accessibility and insurance coverage political issues. The story of health care politics and policy in the twentieth century focuses on provision of access, coverage, and insurance as both the public and private sectors sought to find solutions to these issues. The development of our current employer-based insurance coverage stems from a historical accident during World War II. In the twentieth century, no fewer than six American Presidents, from Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama, have pushed for efforts to expand national health insurance.