40 Years Ago Yesterday ...

• You didn't have health insurance.  You didn't need health insurance.
  
• It was possible that your doctor would visit your home to see what was ailing you
• You visited your family doctor five times a year, and grudgingly paid the three to four dollar fee.
• Whatever the fee was, a doleful look could  get it cut in half, or the query, "What can you afford?"  
  
• Medical procedure fees were negotiable.
  
• Your doctor read your chart.  He knew if he had removed your kidneys on the last visit
• The government had nothing to do with any of this

40 Years Ago Today

• Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law, effectively setting a minimum fee for visits and procedures.
•  Its involvement gave gummint an interest in your lifestyle, and the right to control it in the name of cost controls.
  
• Costs doubled, tripled, quadrupled .....
  
• Who cares? It's all free!