Sarah Krull, Suffolk ’07

Sarah presented her paper, "Five Critical Moments: The Development of the US Health Insurance System in 20th Century America" at the 15th Annual Illinois State University Conference for Students of Political Science, Normal IL, March 23, 2007.

In my research, I outlined 5 critical junctures in the history of the development of the American healthcare system. I looked at 5 instances in which compulsory health insurance was discussed at the state or federal level in the U.S.: 1916, 1935, 1947, 1965 and 1993. Although the origins of compulsory health insurance in the U.S. are thought to start with Medicare and Medicaid and Clinton, I found that the state model of compulsory health insurance was constructed in 1916. Today Massachusetts and California are reverting to a similar structure.  It was interesting to discover that the American Medical Association initially supported the state model of compulsory health insurance, however a change in leadership and discontent with the government during WWI led to a reversal of their position.  Additionally, the U.S. President during each critical juncture was a Democrat and, except for 1993, the Democrats also held the majority in Congress.