Type: Exhibition section

Name: Health

Detail: "All of us are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that it is more and more difficult to get high quality health care at a price that we can afford. Some people have characterized all of the various problems associated with this situation as "the health care crisis". . . . [In 1965] we finally enacted Medicare and Medicaid so that no elderly or poor person would have to fear that they would have to choose between eating and getting decent medical care. This was an important beginning--a landmark in this nation's quest for a comprehensive health insurance program for everyone. Harrison A. Williams, Jr., "Health" position paper, circa 1976.

Health problems could be devastating to individuals and the nation in terms of financial cost, lost productivity, personal tragedy, and social disruption. In the absence of comprehensive national health insurance, Williams and others sought alternatives that expanded access to medical care, such as Medicare and Medicaid (1965) and the 1973 legislation encouraging the development of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) as cost-effective care providers. Legislation encouraged the research and treatment of various diseases including, by the 1970s, alcoholism and drug addiction.

Type: Exhibition caption

Detail: S. 1 was the Senate version (as introduced) of the Medicare bill. At least as early as April 1960, Williams supported the concept of extending the Social Security system to include health coverage for the elderly. In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, he noted that 9 million seniors, or 60% of that age group, had no health insurance. Compounding this exposure was the fact that 6 million seniors had annual total incomes of $1,000 or less.

Type: Finding aid

Name: Inventory to the Papers of Harrison A. Williams, Jr.

Detail: Finding aid provides description of materials in the Harrison A. Williams collection