US President Harry Truman

Thanks to this president, health care appeared in America

America

Al Arabiya.net - Taha Abdel Nasser Ramadan

Published on: August 16, 2024: 11:13 AM GST

Last updated: August 16, 2024: 02:19 PM GST

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Over the years, the health care program has sparked political controversy in the United States of America.

While a number of politicians tended to support it through a series of additional laws and measures, others preferred to reduce the budget provided for health care, stressing that it was a waste of public money.

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The American health care program underwent an important transformation after the end of World War II. Thanks to President Harry S. Truman and his administration, who introduced major amendments in 1946.

Health care universalization plan

During his time working for the US Army during World War I, Truman was astonished by the large number of young men who were classified as unfit for service due to their poor health. Based on his findings, the poor receive health care thanks to the assistance they receive from charitable organizations and programs, and the wealthy receive good health care thanks to their ability to pay expensive bills. While the middle class represented a marginalized and neglected class in the field of health care.

Upon assuming the presidency of the United States, Truman praised the health system and health sector workers and proposed what he described as a reasonable solution that provided for granting health care to everyone and financing it through a type of tax that would be imposed on salaries.

However, the Truman Plan, which later became the Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill, was never discussed as it never reached a vote in Congress. In the following period, Truman described this matter as the worst failure of his presidency.

A 1949 letter in which Harry Truman defends his proposed health care program

A 1949 letter in which Harry Truman defends his proposed health care program

Dominance of southern conservative Democrats

On the other hand, Truman's health care plan raised concerns from the American Medical Association, as doctors at the time feared losing their independence to the government. Faced with this situation, the association resorted to the services of a public relations company to fight the health care plan.

While some of the Medical Association's propaganda methods were in the form of comic strips that showed rows of patients outside clinics and robots providing health services to patients.