Is There a Doctor in the House?… Or for the House

At present it appears that the United States will be the last major nation to adopt national health insurance. But whether as an issue in its own right or as a part of a larger debate about social security, the subject of the nation's health care has been an important social and political question for postWorld War II American society. Poen narrates the intermittent struggle waged over half a century that culminated in the medicare legislation of the mid-1960s. Although Franklin Roosevelt had endorsed the principle of compulsory health insurance as early as 1935, Truman was the first chief executive to identify national health insurance as a priority item on his agenda of domestic legislation. After a head-reeling twenty one point in September 1945 that reaffirmed the Missourian's commitment to Roosevelt's so-called Economic Bill of Rights and provided the major proposals of the Fair Truman sent Congress the details of his health program. In the first presidential message devoted exclusively to health, the administration called for a comprehensive, prepaid medical insurance plan for all citizens financed through a combination of social security payroll taxes and general revenue funds. Following the cataract of messages and proposals which moved more than one member of the 79th Congress tocomplain that Truman was outdealing the New Deal, the administration's fortissimo for health insurance was quickly muted. Poen argues correctly that unity of purpose among the promoters and strong executive leadership were essential for Truman's health program to succeed. But neither materialized. White House support stalled, and New

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