Biomaterial Database

National health insurance in the United States: a drama in too many acts. 1999

M Terris

Responding to the question, "Universal Health Care: How Can We Get There from Here?," this paper describes the history of governmental health insurance in the United States, analyzes the factors that have proved to be crucial to its establishment in other countries, and concludes that without a strong Labor Party, there will be no national health insurance, no universal healthcare system in the United States.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008329	Managed Care Programs	Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.	Case Management, Insurance,Insurance Case Management,Managed Health Care Insurance Plans,Managed Care,Care, Managed,Managed Care Program,Management, Insurance Case,Program, Managed Care,Programs, Managed Care
D008484	Medicaid	Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons.	Dental Medicaid Program,Medical Assistance, Title 19,Dental Medicaid Programs,Medicaid Program, Dental,Medicaid Programs, Dental,Program, Dental Medicaid,Programs, Dental Medicaid
D009313	National Health Programs	Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.	National Health Insurance, Non-U.S.,Health Services, National,National Health Insurance,National Health Insurance, Non U.S.,National Health Services,Services, National Health,Health Insurance, National,Health Program, National,Health Programs, National,Health Service, National,Insurance, National Health,National Health Program,National Health Service,Program, National Health,Programs, National Health,Service, National Health
D005380	Financing, Government	Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.	Federal Aid,Financing, Public,Grants and Subsidies, Government,Hill-Burton Act,Subsidies, Government,Government Financing,Act, Hill-Burton,Aid, Federal,Aids, Federal,Federal Aids,Government Subsidies,Government Subsidy,Hill Burton Act,Public Financing,Subsidy, Government
D006278	Medicare	Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XVIII-Health Insurance for the Aged, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, that provides health insurance benefits to persons over the age of 65 and others eligible for Social Security benefits. It consists of two separate but coordinated programs: hospital insurance (MEDICARE PART A) and supplementary medical insurance (MEDICARE PART B). (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed and A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, US House of Representatives, 1976)	Health Insurance for Aged and Disabled, Title 18,Insurance, Health, for Aged and Disabled,Health Insurance for Aged, Disabled, Title 18,Health Insurance for Aged, Title 18
D013219	State Government	The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.	Government, State,Provincial Government,Government, Provincial,Governments, State,State Governments
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History