488-40-6969A – American Healthcare Chronicles

I recently started building products focused on healthcare affordability in the US. As I was ramping up on a new space, the biggest question that sparked my curiosity was: how did we get here? This question is the inspiration for this weekly series chronicling the decisions, accidents, and breakthroughs that built the US healthcare system. In November 1945, seven months into his presidency, Harry Truman sent a message to Congress that would define the next two decades of his life.He had identified a problem the employer-sponsored system couldn’t solve. That system worked well for people who were employed. But the elderly had retired. The very poor had never had employer coverage. And the middle class had no protection against the financial devastation of serious illness. Truman proposed a solution: a national health insurance program, funded through payroll taxes, open to all Americans. A survey taken shortly after found 59% of Americans who knew about the plan supported it. The…