Introduction to Health Care in Crisis

In 1965, it seemed possible that private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid together would create a sufficient substitute for universal health insurance. However, this dream crumbled when the economic changes of the 1970s and ‘80s, including medical cost inflation and the decline of labor unions, led many firms to reduce or cancel health coverage for their employees. By 1990, 37 million Americans had no health insurance, and the election of 1992 became a contest over how to address the health care crisis. President Bill Clinton proposed an ambitious system of universal coverage based on the concept of “managed competition,” but this plan was once again defeated. This time, the President’s main opponent was not the medical profession, but the powerful American insurance industry.

This module was adapted from content created by Beatrix Hoffman, Professor of History at Northern Illinois University. The original content can be found on the National Library of Medicine website Links to an external site..