Three Attempts To Establish National Health Insurance During The Presidency Of FDR

When Franklin Roosevelt(Roosevelt for short)became the president of the United States,America has not yet established a national health program.The Great Depression has became a double-edged sword,it has brought a lot of challenges to America.However,it has also created a rare opportunity for medical reformers to establish universal health insurance.With support of the president,Robert Wagner,the Democratic senator from New York,led a group of supporters of the new deal and took the opportunity to set up three attempts to establish a National Health Insurance.The first attempt began in 1934,reformers wanted to put the national health insurance into the Social Security Act.The American Medical Association expressed strong opposition to the idea.For the pass of Social Security Act,reformers had to delete the relevant provisions of the national health insurance from the Social Security Act.The second attempt mainly focus on the 1939 �Wagner bill�.This bill proposed by Senator Robert Wagner who is the main leader of the first attempt.Reformers wanted to try to create a federal-state universal health program supported by general tax.Although this idea has avoid the federal intervention as far as possible,but medical interest groups such as insurers and pharmaceuticals companies still strongly opposed to it.The president who were seeking re-election made the decision to shelve the national health insurance,in addition,the outbreak of the first World War has also disrupted the pace of reform.In the third attempt,reformers proposed the �WagnerMurray-Dingell bill� to Congress directly in 1943.This proposal expanded the coverage and enhanced the pension of �Wagner bill�,which proposed during the second attempt.However,the United States finally joined the World War?,which turned the focus of national policy from domestic problems to the international war gradually.Under such circumstances,the National Health Insurance which needs a lot of money is no longer a priority.In order to win the 1944 presidential election and the World War II firstly,President Roosevelt promised to push the national health insurance after the war.Roosevelt missed the good opportunity,this made it difficult to establish national health insurance in the future.But three attempts during the presidency of Roosevelt set the basic legislative framework for the subsequent medical reformers,and helped them realized the correct strategy of reform.