By: Faith Williams
In America today it is uncommon for someone not to have health insurance. However, many years ago, this was quite the opposite. Following World War II, Truman noticed many people struggling with disabilities. The majority of people were unable to receive medical care because they could not pay the bills that came after. Truman believed this to be unfair and that everyone should have a right to healthcare. Therefore, Truman came up 
with a plan to fix this healthcare crisis and tried to put his idea into action.
Throughout the years, many people would go without seeking medical help for the soul purpose that they were unable to afford it. Truman decided that this was a topic he felt very passionate about and made this his main concern. In 1945 the fight for healthcare officially began. On September 6, 1945 Truman wrote a letter to congress proposing a new economic bill. In this bill it contained what he believed every American had a right to, including healthcare. The Selective Service System brought the physical and mental incapacity to Truman’s attention. The draft record of 1945 took Truman by surprise. When males registered to be in the navy, 30 percent of them ages 18 to 37 were rejected due to physical or mental disabilities. As the ages got higher, so did the percentages. Similar to that about one third of the young women who applied to the Women’s Army Corps were rejected. These numbers made Truman fear the success of America. The disabilities these people had made it harder for them to do everyday civilian jobs. He also saw these disabilities life threatening and did not want America’s death rates to increase. Medicine made great strides during this period of time and he wanted people to be able to take advantage of the medical success. He wanted this bill to help everyone, believing that the poor Americans need it the most. He saw five main problems that had to be fixed with this bill. The first problem was the unequal distribution of medical personnel. He states that America did not need more; however, they need to move to places that needed it the most. In some places, people do not even have doctors to help them and in others they have too many. He wanted an even spread everywhere. The second concern was the need for the development of public health. Although they have made stellar improvement over the years, they still have much room they need to improve on. His plan was to make water systems, sewage disposal, and sanitary facilities much safer. The third problem he saw was medical research and education. He wanted to have medical professionals learn as much as they can about health. The fourth problem was the outrageous cost of healthcare. Later, Truman figured out how to solve this problem. Finally the fifth problem that truman saw with healthcare was the loss of people’s hard earned money when they took the victim to an illness.
The problems Truaman saw in healthcare all had solutions that people just had to agree to. The fourth and fifth problem he saw go hand in hand. They both have to deal with the tragedy of not being able to afford healthcare. Truman solution to these problems was health insurance. He wanted to make sure everyone would receive the healthcare they need, so he constructed his plan. He proposed to take four percent out of workers salaries to help them pay for their medical attention. This caused an 
uproar. People were for the idea of health insurance; however, against getting four percent of their salary taken away. W. I. Sargent wrote a letter to Truman discussing his objection. He believed the common man should not have that much taken out of his salary. With so many people against Truman’s way of providing insurance for everyone, his idea failed.
Although Truman’s healthcare proposal may have failed during his time, it was not a fail forever. Truman went on to influence later presidents to fight for healthcare too. In 1965, Johnson enacted a health insurance plan for the elderly and the needy. However it was not until 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed. Years Clinton honored Truman by visiting his hometown and discussing healthcare. Clinton was dedicated to winning the fight for better healthcare in honor of Truman. During Clinton’s speech he mentions Truman multiple times.
Healthcare is still undergoing change to this day. America still has not found a plan to keep everyone happy. However, with these advances in health insurance Americans can credit that to Truman for jump starting the fight. Many people believe that he would have loved to see how far the United 
States came with developing healthcare in the years to follow his passing. Truman’s plan may have failed, but his idea went on to inspire many other people.
Image Citations:
“Truman Hatching the Fair Deal Egg.” Interactive Cold War Timeline, https://www.sutori.com/item/fair-deal-speech-1949-1950-truman-announced-his-plans-for-domestic-policy-refo.
“Harry S. Truman.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 22 Oct. 2019, https://www.biography.com/us-president/harry-s-truman.
Smith, Drew. “How Will Universal Health Care Change the US?” Medium, Tincture, 13 Sept. 2019, https://tincture.io/how-will-universal-health-care-change-the-us-d6a5b7f4356b.
Primary Sources:
“Letter from W. I. Sargent to President Harry S. Truman: Harry S. Truman.” Letter from W. I. Sargent to President Harry S. Truman | Harry S. Truman, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/letter-w-i-sargent-president-harry-s-truman.
“President Harry S. Truman’s Federal Health Insurance Plan.” California and Western Medicine, vol. 63, no. 6, 1945, pp. 270–4, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1473701/pdf/calwestmed00012-0044.pdf
Secondary Sources:
Donovan, Robert J. Conflict and Crisis: the Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945-1948. University of Missouri Press, 1996, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=d0uu-j32elUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Truman’s health insurance 1945&ots=bub_knzj_0&sig=53kgK3vvD6ujoDPCXOb9RErwddc#v=onepage&q=Truman’s health insurance 1945&f=false.
“In Truman’s Home Town, Clinton Vows to Complete Health Care Drive.” Factiva, The Washington Post, https://global.factiva.com/ga/default.aspx.
Schremmer, Robert D, and Jane F Knapp. “Harry Truman and Health Care Reform: The Debate Starts Here.” Pediatrics Perspectives, 7 Dec. 2010, https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/127/3/399.full.pdf.
Van Way, Charles W. “It All Started with Harry.” Missouri Medicine, vol. 109, no. 1, 2012, pp. 26–28.