Jennifer Elliott hcs/440 07/21/2014
Health care history
Jennifer Elliott hcs/440 07/21/2014
Health care history

Before the 1900s, there really wasn't what you could call major health care in this country. The American Medical Association also known as the AMA was just finally taking off the ground, hospitals were just getting established, doctors still made house calls and traded their services for goods, and people still used a lot of home remedies to treat their ailments. Health insurance was unheard of, but between 1901 and the 1940's medicine and health care made some major jumps and went far. Hospitals became more and more important, advances were made in antiseptics and cleanliness, antibiotics were discovered, and several people were coming up with ideas for health insurance and employer medical benefits. President Truman proposed a national health care plan, but it was shot out of the water by both the American Medical Association and Congress. By the 1960's, though, we started to see health insurance companies popping up all over, Social Security had been implemented, and Medicare and Medicaid had been signed into law. HMO's came into existence in the 1970's and health care costs began to climb radically, eventually spiraling out of control! Over the past fifty years, we've seen health care costs continue to rise to the point that some low-income families and the elderly are unable to get medical treatment. Decentralization of the hospital care system has prompted private companies to enter the health care industry. The 21st Century ushered in the biggest "can of worms" our health care system had ever seen! Over the last ten years, several government officials have lobbied for a nationalized health care system, and finally on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act became law. The idea is to revolutionize the health care industry, cut down on