TRENDS
JOHN P. HUBBARD M.D.
AT THE present writing, the 81st Congress has reconvened but it is doubtful whether much, if any, attention will be given to the many health bills which have been discussed at such length in Committee and on the Floor. By the time this review and preview is published, the 81st Congress will have finally adjourned and all unfinished business in the nature of bills which have not been enacted into law will be washed off the slate. But this does not mean that the unresolved issues will necessarily be dead; they may be introduced in the 82nd Congress and appear in similar, if not identical, form. It is timely, therefore, to consider the status of certain of the health bills as a guide to the situation that we may expect to see unfold in the newly elected Congress.
Compulsory Health Insurance
Despite the all-out campaign waged by the AMA and many other powerful organizations, compulsory health insurance will undoubtedly continue to be a storm center. A bill for compulsory health insurance has been introduced, in one form or another, into every Congress since the first Wagner-Murray-Dingle Bill was introduced in 1943. It is not likely that the 82nd Congress will break this chain.
