From same 2nd link: That seems contrary to the claim that health insurance was universal before the 1940s...From 1940 to 1950, enrollment in health insurance plans increased seven-fold—from 20 million to nearly 142 million.
Watch what happens: http://i.imgur.com/Xzu0b3h.gif See that sharp climb between 1946 and 1952? That's " The formerly non-profit insurance companies found themselves in a competitive marketplace where their offerings became an extension of salary. Meanwhile, McCarthyism, which made it really hard to go back to anything "socialized" in a nutshell. You're also missing: So. We go from an AFLAC-like disability insurance because "health insurance was AFFORDABLE and universal to all" (doesn't mean they all had it, meant they could all buy it - $6 a year in 1921 is $76 a year in 2012) to exactly what I said.Health insurance—as it has evolved in the United States—began in the early 1900s. During this time, health care itself was not very costly; the chief cost associated with illness was actually the loss of wages. Thus, “sickness insurance,” similar to our current concept of disability insurance, was meant to cover loss of wages.
This era also saw the birth of one of the largest health insurance programs—the “Blues.” In Dallas, the administrators of Baylor Hospital created a system to help close the affordability gap and attract patients by offering high school teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 per year. Similar prepaid hospital plans developed throughout the nation and were endorsed by the American Hospital Association. Combined under the name Blue Cross (BC), these plans had tax-exempt status under state laws that allowed them to operate as nonprofit organizations.