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Health & Fitness

The Urban Archeologist: Was Health Insurance Better in 1944?

A look back at Blue Cross Coverage.

I like finding old paper – ads, brochures, maps, letters, etc.  The graphics and illustrations are amusing sometimes, the paper is usually of a quality you can’t find anymore, as is the printing process and ink color. They look old and feel old, but neither is something I would consider bad at all.

 

The best part is trying to learn about, or figure out what I’ve found. These 2 pieces, one of which is a letter, and the other a brochure are good examples of that.

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I also like that I can find old paper whose subject matter is immediately relevant to a current discussion. As the debate over health insurance continues I like plucking a coincidence out a box of old paper and seeing if it will add to the discussion.

I don’t pretend to know what side I should fall on in the current debate. While I am lucky enough to be employed and offered coverage, I have seen my paycheck consumed by higher and higher insurance premiums. With the economy in the state it’s in, it seems that if that money were going into my pocket, I could be spending it to boost the local economy or investing it.

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 Were things simpler or better in 1944, when the employee working at the local hospital read this letter and reviewed the pamphlet? It is important to note that Blue Cross plans covered hospital services while physicians' services were covered by Blue Shield.

 Click here to look inside the brochure to see how simply and clearly coverage and cost is spelled out.   

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