In 1960, total U.S. health expenditures were five percent of the America's gross domestic product (GDP), far less than the 17.8% share we see today (2015). During the 1960's the growth in healthcare spending was dominated by expanded health insurance coverage and increased healthcare access. It was during this period, that healthcare industry saw many significant advances in technologies and practices which led to better service for the patients. The average growth rate from 1966 through 1973 averaged 11.9%, faster than the previous decade.
Expansion of Medicare
This acceleration of growth from 1966 until 1973 can be attributed to the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid which went into effect on July 1, 1966. In the early 1970's there were several attempts to expand Medicare. First, in 1970 there were three proposals for a universal national health insurance plan, including a bill introduced by Republican Senator Jacob Javits to extend Medicare to all. Second, in 1971, President Richard Nixon proposed an employer mandate of private health insurance and the federalization of Medicaid for the families in poverty. And finally, in 1972, Nixon signed Social Security Amendments expanding Medicare to those under 65 who had been severely disabled for two years or have end state renal disease. By 1973, enrollment of Medicare had reached 17 million and had $9.4 billion in expenses.Rising Costs
Beginning in 1973, the annual inflation rates jumped from under 4% to as high s 12% in 1974, and with it so did the cost of healthcare, but now, the rising costs were outpacing the both the increase in healthcare access and the increase in service. Many in the healthcare industry and politicians became alarmed at the rapid escalation of healthcare costs. Hospital expenses and profits were rising, Medicare costs were rising. Nixon's earlier healthcare reforms had helped him win re-election in a land-slide in 1972, and now he was read to propose a more comprehensive health insurance reform plan. In 1974, President Nixon announced his Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan. This plan would include employer mandated healthcare, and provide healthcare insurance for those who could not afford it. Nixon promised to do this though private insurance programs and without raising federal taxes. In his 1974 State of the Union address, Nixon outlined his plan:"Despite all these advances, however, too many Americans still fail to receive needed health care because of its costs. And too often the costs of health care threaten our citizens with bankruptcy while the services that can prevent or cure disease are not fully utilized.Nixon's plan failed when it hit a roadblock with Senator Ted Kennedy, who had proposed a very similar healthcare plan in the past. Ted Kennedy's plan was single-payer, tax based system that Nixon opposed as un-American with too much power given to the federal government. Initially, Kennedy opposed Nixon's plan, but after second thoughts, he worked with the Nixon administration to broker a compromise, but that was just months before the country was embroiled in the Watergate scandal, At this point Kennedy walked away, giving conservatives time to regroup and Nixoncare was dead.
As one of my major new initiatives for 1974, I shall soon submit to the Congress a comprehensive health insurance proposal which would:
--Make available health insurance protection to millions of Americans who currently cannot obtain or afford the private health insurance coverage they need.
--Provide all Americans with vastly improved protection against catastrophic illness.
--Place a new emphasis on preventive health care.
--Provide State and Federal subsidies for low-income families, and for those whose special health risks would otherwise make them uninsurable or insurable only at exorbitant expense.
My comprehensive health insurance proposal will build upon the strengths of the existing health system, rather than destroying it. It will maintain the high quality of medical care without requiring higher taxes. It will be based on partnership, not on paternalism. And most importantly, it will. require doctors to work for their patients, not for the Federal Government.
This plan would require that employers offer a comprehensive health insurance plan to ll their full-time employees, with the employer paying a share of its costs. The role of private health insurance in financing health care would be expanded and the consumer's opportunity to choose between competing health insurance plans would be enhanced."
http://
http://
https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nationalhealthaccountshistorical.html
History of Health Spending in the United States, 1960-2013 by Aaron C. Catlin and Cathy A. Cowan (2015)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_health_care_reform_in_the_United_States
http://caucus99percent.com/content/why-america-got-obamacare-not-nixoncare
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/06/22/stockman/bvg57mguQxOVpZMmB1Mg2N/story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment