Photo: Senator Robert Wagner, testifying to his collegues in 1938.
A major push for a national health program was mounted by President Harry Truman and Democratic leadership after the end of WWII in 1945. Truman had become president after the death of Franklin Roosevelt in April, and war had come to an end in September. Two months later, President Truman proposed national health care reform in a speech to Congress, which focused on how the crisis in access to healthcare had undermined the war effort and impacted soldiers.
The vehicle for implementing President Truman's proposal was the National Health Act, introduced to the 79th Congress by Senator Robert Wagner as S. 1606 and by Representative John Dingell as H.R. 4730.
The Senate Committee on Education and Labor held 35 days of public hearings on S. 1606 in April - July of 1946.
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Index of Public Hearings
- Hearings on S. 1606, a Bill to Provide for a National Health Program Part 1: April 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 16, 1946
- Hearings on S. 1606, a Bill to Provide for a National Health Program Part 2: April 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, and 24, 1946
- Hearings on S. 1606, a Bill to Provide for a National Health Program Part 3: April 25, 26, 30, and May 1, 2, 3, and 7, 1946
- Hearings on S. 1606, a Bill to Provide for a National Health Program Part 4: May 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, and June 18, 20, 21, 1946
- Hearings on S. 1606, a Bill to Provide for a National Health Program Part 5: June 24, 25, 26, 27, and July 10, 1946
1946 Committee on Education and Labor Hearings on "To Establish a National Health Program"
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Open in new tab Public Hearings hosted on S. 1606 by the Committee on Education and Labor (Part 2: April 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, and 24, 1946):
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