this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2026
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[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

The Acquired podcast went over this history very briefly in their Epic episode and it's so crazy how close we were to having universal healthcare.

Tl;dl:

  • during WW2, wage controls were in place due to a large demand of workers but very few people available due to being in the war
  • unions and companies alike were looking for ways to make their positions and companies more attractive.
  • government permitted benefits to augment salaries. Some companies started offering health insurance.
  • back then going to the doctor was NOT the bankrupt causing thing that is today and was considered a fringe benefit
  • larger companies were able to offer better incentives due to healthcare benefits
  • add a few years of corruption and "market forces" and you have the system we have now

So blame wage controls during WW2.

Oh and the Brits were facing similar forces when they were starting to stand up their healthcare system but decided instead to hire people to build a robust system so everyone didn't have to pay anything at the point of sale.

Yeah, it really was that simple.

[–] grranibal@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 hour ago

I prefer to blame the people who take advantage of the sick