The Great Wave of Immigration in the United States started in the 1880s. In 1880, the country's population was 50 million (U.S. Census Bureau 2008), virtually all of whom lacked health insurance. Of course, at that time, medical services were scarce and provided only modest benefit. Today, in a country with a population that has grown sixfold and where private- and public-sector forms of health insurance are required to access a highly sophisticated healthcare system, the number of persons who lack health insurance approaches 47 million--just a little less than the entire U.S. population in 1880.
Health insurance has become the dominant mechanism for paying for medical ...