Prior to 1973 health insurance was mostly non-profit. Is that better -------?
#18 | POSTED BY VISITOR_
Well, fart blossom, it really depends on how far back you go but it still doesn't cover it
Most "health insurance" was not very comprehensive and did not even cover medical expenses but was for income protection.
Employer based insurance was mostly for the protection of the company profits.
Employment-related medical programs occasionally covered not only work-related injuries but also general medical care for workers, their families, and even the larger community (Somers and Somers, 1961; Munts, 1967; Brandes, 1976). In the early part of this century, company medical services could be one component of "welfare capitalism," a range of housing, education, social assistance, and other programs intended to socialize workers, bind them to their employer, and discourage unions. Instead of or in addition to providing company hospitals and doctors, some employers assisted employee mutual benefit associations with financial and clerical aid. Most general accounts of these associations do not make clear whether they protected against medical care expenses, and to what extent, or simply against loss of income due to injury or illness. In any case, although a few companies, such as Eastman Kodak, made large contributions to these employee programs, a 1916 Public Health Service survey found only one company of 425 that fully funded such a program, and most assistance was quite limited (Munts, 1967; Brandes, 1976).
For the most part, physician organizations opposed company-provided medical care as a threat to their autonomy and income. During the early part of this century, this opposition discouraged many companies from expanding their involvement in medical care. For example, after the company doctor at Sears, Roebuck resigned because the county medical society refused him membership, his successor persuaded the company to stop providing services to workers' families at reduced prices and to provide only periodic examinations and other limited care to employees (Starr, 1982).
Workers had different concerns (Brandes, 1976). Company doctors were often seen as serving the company before the patient, for example, in reporting illnesses discovered during physical examinations and in making judgments about whether injuries were work-related and thus required some compensation to the employee. Also, many workers preferred to choose their own physician. As a consequence of these and other concerns, unions often pressed for cash benefits instead of company medical services (Starr, 1982).
