Perhaps if it was easy, everyone would do it, right? It sounds similar to what Kennedy said at Rice University on Sept. 12, 1962, about going to the moon:
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Health Insurance was still struggling throughout the 1910s and 1920s. Some organization was successful while other approaches failed.
One opportunity that became available was when a group of teachers from Dallas joined together and came up with what could be the first employer sponsored plan. They would agree to pay, what is now known as an insurance premium, to Baylor University Hospital at a 50 cent monthly amount. Today that would be equal to $7 per month due to inflation. Blue Cross soon came about inspired by this program. There is a catch, though that will be in the next blog.
It was also quite obvious that the face of the medical field was continuing to change as advancements came about. Abraham Flexner from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was invited by the Council on Medical Education to evaluate the state of medical education. His report was published in 1910. Flexner argued for better facilities, higher fees and tougher standards which crossed paths into licensure and medical school accreditation.
As the Great Depression began in 1929, things continued to become a challenge. Continue with us in this journey as we dig into the past.
Sources:
https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/rice-university-19620912#:~:text=We%20choose%20to%20go%20to%20the%20moon%20in%20this%20decade,to%20postpone%2C%20and%20one%20which
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