Healthcare System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Healthcare System - Research Paper Example The earliest ones only offered coverage against accidents related from travel by rail or steamboat. The plans did, however, pave way for more comprehensive plans covering all illnesses and injuries. The first group policy giving comprehensive benefits was offered by Massachusetts Health Insurance of Boston in 1847. Insurance companies issued the first individual disability and illness policies in about 1890 (www.neurosurgical.com). What we recognize as modern medicine, Cohn writes, began in the 1920s, wherein doctors and hospitals, having only during the previous decade learned enough about disease that they could be reliably helpful in treating sick people, began charging more than most individuals could easily pay (qtd. in Noah). This demand on expensive medical and hospital assistance paved way for the first modern group health insurance plan in 1929. A group of teachers in Dallas, Texas, contracted with Baylor Hospital for room, board, and medical services in exchange for a monthly fee (www.neurosurgical.com). This was well known as the Blue Cross. The Blues were essentially non-profit health insurers who served local community organizations. In exchange for a tax break, Blue Cross organizations kept premiums reasonably low (Noah). As the modernization continued so did the sophistication of medical knowledge and technology. This led to healthcare assistance to cost more and for private insurers to be interested in the business of healthcare insurance. The competition between several insurers broke down the non-profit advantage of the Blues. Private insurers went to a direction where they go for healthier, less risk customers resulting to difficulty for people much in need of the services to afford getting healthcare insurance. There have been many attempts to solve the problems on the cost of healthcare assistance. One of which was the Committee on the Cost of Medical Care or the CMCC. Karen Palmer stated that the committee