President Truman's Proposed Health Program
November 19, 1945President Truman's plan was to improve the state of health care in the United States by addressing five separate issues. The first issue was the lack of doctors, dentists, nurses, and other health professionals in many rural or otherwise lower-income areas of the United States. He saw that "the earning capacity of the people in some communities makes it difficult if not impossible for doctors who practice there to make a living." He proposed to attract doctors to the areas that needed them with federal funding. The second problem that Mr. Truman aimed to correct was the lack of quality hospitals in rural and lower-income counties. He proposed to provide government funds for the construction of new hospitals across the country. To insure only quality hospitals were built, the plan also called for the creation of national standards for hospitals and other health centers. Mr. Truman's third initiative was closely tied to the first two. It called for a board of doctors and public officials to be created. This board would create standards for hospitals and ensure that new hospitals met these standards. The board would also be responsible for directing federal funds into medical research.
The most controversial aspect of the plan was the proposed national health insurance plan. In his November 19, 1945 address, President Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance fund to be run by the federal government. This fund would be open to all Americans, but would remain optional. Participants would pay monthly fees into the plan, which would cover the cost of any and all medical expenses that arose in a time of need. The government would pay for the cost of services rendered by any doctor who chose to join the program. In addition, the insurance plan would give a cash balance to the policy holder to replace wages lost due to illness or injury. Source:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/anniversaries/healthprogram.htmFrom President Truman's Special Message to Congress:People with low or moderate incomes do not get the same medical attention as those with high incomes.
The poor have more sickness, but they get less medical care. People who live in rural areas do not get the same amount or quality of medical attention as those who live in our cities.
Our new Economic Bill of Rights should mean health security for all, regardless of residence, station, or race--everywhere in the United States.
Source:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=483&st=&st1= This is a struggle beyond decades and lifetimes. Read President Truman's words. Look at how long we've fought and pushed only to be tossed aside by the moneyed interests. Only to be broken once more.
How many of our brothers and sisters have died? Would you have known your Grandfather? Your mother? Would your brother have had a few more years to be by your side if only he had been to seen the doctor before it all went wrong? The child who only had a fever, then died because no one had money? Maybe we've lost more than we lost in all of the senseless wars. Our cemeteries are full of disregard.
If this were a poem it would be an epic. This is the span of many generations and the hope of every single one of them. Too long we have waited.
My favorite Kennedy said it best-
For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.-Let's Honor this Lion