In today’s industrialized and technology-filled world, the search for new medical treatments and cures for diseases is ever growing. Medical professionals and researchers are constantly on the lookout for techniques and methods to improve health care. Today’s society has made leaps and bounds in areas such as cures and treatment for various diseases, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. However, there is one area of health care that is severely lacking, even in first world countries: access and administration of quality and cost-effective health care. The United States is among one of the most advanced countries in the world. Despite this fact, the health care system in the U.S. is broken and needs major reform. One of the major reasons …show more content…
If one wants to understand today’s health care system and how it came to be, it is important to know how health care coverage began in the United States. Between the years 1910 and 1915, 32 states passed legislation to provide workers’ compensation insurance (Morrisey 4). Before these programs were enacted, according to the law, employers were responsible for worker injuries that occurred at their facilities. In the case that a worker was injured, the employer had 3 defenses against negligence. If the employers invested in this insurance, and a worker was injured, they retained these defenses. However, if the employer chose not to buy insurance, these 3 defenses could not be used to protect the company from being liable for the injury (4). In addition to workers’ compensation insurance, in 1929, another health insurance program was initiated. This program was started by Baylor Hospital and the Dallas public schools. In this program, teachers from the Dallas school district would pay a monthly fee in exchange for medical care at Baylor Hospital. Shortly after this program was initiated, it was mimicked by other schools around the country. This type of program was advertised with a picture of a blue cross, and eventually, this form of health insurance was named the Blue