People often think that health insurance is a modern invention, originating in the twentieth century but the roots of the modern day health insurance company can be traced back many centuries. The idea of health insurance was first put forward by a family of surgeons back in the seventeenth century England.

In America the first health insurance company was the Franklin Health Assurance Company, which was actually an accident insurance company operating out of Massachusetts. This company began operating in 1850, and it was quickly followed by a number of companies offering a similar service of insuring against steamboat or railroad incidents. In fact with fifteen years there were some sixty companies offering this kind of health insurance. There was a period of consolidation in the industry it was not long until sickness coverage was added to accident insurance policies. There was evolution of the idea though from disability cover to today’s health insurance coverage.

It was though a gradual change in the way that medical care was paid for. Up until the end of the nineteenth century it was normal for patients to pay for whatever health care they received at the time it was received. In the twentieth century though, it became much more common for health insurance companies to pay for the costs, after monthly premiums had been paid by a policy holder. There were private companies and also individual hospitals offering insurance policies. Today though it is an industry split between government funded organizations and private companies.

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