Harry S. Truman pushed for universal health insurance
Harry S. Truman was surprised by the sheer number of individuals who were ruled medically unfit to serve when he joined the army during World War I. According to Randy Sowell, an archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, "He felt it was a reflection of inadequate health care for portions of the population." Sowell adds that while wealthy individuals could afford health care and the needy could obtain support from charitable initiatives, Truman believed the middle class was underserved and left out. So soon after assuming office in 1945, Truman put up what he thought to be a workable and sensible solution: universal health care funded by a kind of payroll tax.
"Healthy persons form our greatest natural resource, and prudence as well as justice demand that we husband that resource," stated Harry S. Truman in a draft statement to Congress in 1947. As a country, we should work to ensure that everyone has access to good health rather than keeping a long and productive life exclusively for the wealthy. The Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill was never even put up for a vote, hence the plan's specifics were never worked out. Later, Truman referred to it as the biggest letdown of his presidency.
Much of the current controversy over health care spending was foreseen by Truman. He started pushing for greater public health services and care facilities in underserved rural areas just seven months after taking office. He wanted Americans to pay a monthly fee that would cover the expense of their health care should they become ill. He maintained that because the doctors were independent contractors, it wouldn't be "socialized medicine." But rather of advocating for private insurance, the American Medical Association refused. Truman's intentions failed when Democrats lost control of the Senate and the House. He later cited his failed attempt to provide national health insurance as one of his presidency's worst setbacks.
