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“The Voluntary Way is the American Way”: The AMA’s Campaign for Private Health Insurance, 1945–1950
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 June 2025
Abstract
This article examines the influence of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) campaign against national health insurance between 1945 and 1950. Although previous research has focused on the AMA’s professional influence and its opposition to national health care proposals, I argue that the AMA’s efforts played an essential role in the widespread adoption of private health insurance in the postwar era. Managed by the political consulting firm Whitaker and Baxter, the campaign actively promoted so-called “voluntary” health insurance and mobilized its member physicians and medical societies to support this alternative. Drawing on new archival research, I also highlight the significance of state-level innovations and medical society insurance plans, particularly in California. Ultimately, the article shows how the AMA’s campaign not only prevented the adoption of national health care but also entrenched private health insurance as a cornerstone of the American welfare state.
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- © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Donald Critchlow
References
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75 California Caravan continued for several more years. In 1950, an ambitious young congressman named Richard Nixon started doing their commercials: “Like all of you who are listening, I want the best of everything for my family, and that certainly includes proper medical care. I am well aware of the heavy burden unexpected illnesses can place on the family budget and that’s why I am gratified to observe the tremendous increase in participation in voluntary health insurance programs.” California Caravan Closing Commercial, October 8, 1950, box 11, Whitaker & Baxter Records.
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