Economic Terms and Health Care History
Shyla Davis
HCS 440 Economics: The Financing of Healthcare
Monday April 7, 2015
GEOFFREY SUSZKOWSKI
Economic Terms and Health Care History
The healthcare industry has developed so much since the early days of medicine. Throughout the years, medicine has progressed to a remarkable scientific measure to help benefit of the longevity of life. The health care system has evolved tremendously for the last couple hundred years and America has grown and adapted to every new change that has come along. There is a major difference in the treatment of illnesses and diseases from the early days to now. Understanding the developments and changes in how healthcare has been delivered, how it is funded, and supported is very important in the growth of health care economics.
There are many special events or historical events that took place that contributed to the health care system of today. According to "Pbs.org" (2015),” In 1901, AMA reorganizes as the national organization of state and local associations. Membership increases from about 8,000 physicians in 1900 to 70, 000 in 1910—half the physicians in the country. This period is the beginning of “organized medicine.””(Health Care Crisis History). The American Medical Association (AMA) became the forefront of medicine which allowed doctors to begin charging for their services compared to before where they have been seeing and/or treating hospital patients for free. During this time there are many factors that causes some issues within America and the health care system.
Another monumental event that occurred is the beginning talks of insurance. Progressive reformers argue for health insurance, seems to be gaining support. ("Pbs.org", 2015). These arguments for health insurance begin to form a platform for the development of the first national conference on “social insurance” organized by the American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) in 1910. ("Pbs.org", 2015). During the 1930s, health insurance is beginning to evolve and more and more questions are forming to find out how the funds for insurance would be allocated. According to "Pbs.org" (2015), "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.” (Health Care Crisis History). With the inquiries growing about health insurance, determining a reasonable amount for this service was very demanding. Although the Social Security Act was passed around this time, it did not include health insurance. According to "Social Security Act “(2015), " The SSA was an act to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes.” (Social Security Act of 1935).
The Great Depression put a hard blow on America’s finances overall. According to "Pbs.org" (2015),”The Depression changes priorities, with greater emphasis on unemployment insurance and "old age" benefits (Health Care Crisis History). Being that many individuals were losing or lost their jobs during this time, trying to figure out how families were going to maintain their households was the new focus in America. During this time there were development of different diseases and illnesses that caused more harm to the American people and because there were limited resources on healthcare products, many people died.
In the 1940s, According to "Pbs.org" (2015), “President Roosevelt asks Congress for "economic bill of rights," including right to adequate medical care, during the 2nd World War, wage and price controls are placed on American employers. To compete