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Article: Origins of American Health Insurance: A History of Industrial Sickness Funds.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- June 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Origins of American Health Insurance: A History of Industrial Sickness Funds. By John E. Murray. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2007. Pp. xiv, 313. $40.00.)
In this book, economist John E. Murray challenges historians who contend that Progressive activists' attempts to enact compulsory state insurance plans failed because of strong opposition from unions, physicians, and insurance companies. Instead, he argues that Progressives failed because workers were generally content with the existing industrial sickness funds offered to them through unions and employers. "From all available evidence," Murray writes, "sickness funds appeared where workers needed ...