Final Paper

Running Head: SOCIAL SECURITY BY ROOSEVELT 1

SOCIAL SECURITY BY ROOSEVELT 2

Roosevelt’s Healthcare Contributions

Issys Thompson

HCA415: Community and Public Health

Avi Stein

3/10/18

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. Roosevelt was born on 1882 in Hudson Valley, New York. Born in a Dutch-American family, his family was wealthy, and therefore he grew up in an atmosphere of privilege. He attended Groton School in Massachusetts, a school whose majority students came from the elite social classes families. Roosevelt was highly influenced by his headmaster who installed a virtue of Christians helping the less fortunate. It was the start of his calling role to enter the public service. Roosevelt after that joined Harvard College. He was appointed as the assistant secretary of the navy in 1913, chosen as the Democratic National Convention’s vice president in 1920, elected as the governor of New York in 1929, before being elected as the US vice president in 1933 (St & Spencer, 2007).

Roosevelt is well known for his health care interventions which even started long before he resumed the office of the president. While on vacation in Canada he fell ill and was diagnosed with polio which left him with a permanent paralysis (St & Spencer, 2007). It prompted him to start a hydrotherapy center at Warm Springs, Georgia with his finances. Roosevelt came up with national healthcare reforms which many presidents have tried to enact and most have failed until Barack Obama’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. Although Roosevelt’s advisers had prepared a plan, he died just before the end of the World War II and his plan for a “universal” national health insurance program was adopted by President Harry S. Truman.

Roosevelt’s presidency had numerous hardships ranging from political, socio-economic, environmental and technological perspectives. The 1930’s was a depression decade, and the United States experienced the greatest economic depression in history. Unlike other economic crises, the depression was long-lived, and it persisted throughout the 1930’s (Sherry, 2007). The economic depression affected all the aspects of the society and poverty levels, and unemployment in the country alleviated. The situation was made uglier by the World War II which also took much of the United States economic resources.

Politically, the government was divided between Democrats and Republicans who were always trying to outwit one another in matters of solving the Depression with each political quarter proposing its solutions. Debates became strident, and although the Democrats would support him, the Republicans would not agree with the argument that the economy had to recover first before enacting policies relating to health care (Sherry, 2007). The decade also saw the ripping of a native ecosystem and the worst drought in the American history hit the Great Plains; crops withered. Farmers became poorer than before, and it would become insensitive to channel funds to health care programs, yet people were dying of hunger. Although technological advancements were prevalent at that time, it would be harder to implement health care programs than it was in 2012 when Medicaid and Medicare programs were enacted.

Roosevelt had a belief that as the great depression raged, it was important for him to establish a social security program. He believed that every American citizen a right and privilege to a proper healthcare and therefore he was convinced that he had to further the security of the American citizen and their families through social insurance (Selker & Wasser, 2014). A universal care for all the Americans had to be established according to Roosevelt. Such as fix, as the president believed could receive the necessary funding from contribution rather than increasing the general taxation. Roosevelt’s combination of confidence, political savvy and optimism during this time of America recovery made him efficient and resilient such that even though most Republicans viewed the plan a socialist aspect, he convinced and on over many Republicans.

President Roosevelt faced adversity throughout his presidency and in the face of adversity; he was able to take actions. Roosevelt was elected at the time when the United States faced the biggest economic crisis in history. Simply, more than a quarter of the American citizens were unemployed; the society was full of hungry and homeless people. In other terms, the country was on the verge of social chaos. He had a hard work of restoring the sanity of the economy, yet in his mind, he was always pressed by the urge of ensuring that every American citizen had access to social insurance. On the other hand, all the Republicans were opposed to his healthcare ideas and acted as the hindrance to the accomplishment of his desired objectives. He was able to overturn negative perspectives through actions swiftly and convincing. He always gave hope to the people and gained their trust such that they would always support him in his decision (St & Spencer, 2007). On the other hand, the Republicans believed that his plan was a socialism based and the United States could not afford such finances to sponsor the health care program. However, he was able to convince most of them by assuring them that the funding would not come from raising taxes but rather from contributions.

Roosevelt in his Social Security Act included the social insurance which aimed at improving the healthcare of US citizens. Although the publicly funded health care programs’ aspect was excluded after numerous attacks by the by the American Medical Association and other local and state affiliates, he was able to include important aspects such as the maternal and child health and the old age insurance. After President Roosevelt’s death, Truman assumed office and continued with Roosevelt’s legacy by amending the Social Security Amendments. In other words, it was President Roosevelt’s efforts that laid a basis for publicly funded health care programs that exist even today. Even the Medicare and the Medicaid programs enacted in 1965 and 2010 were formed from the initial health care programs proposed by Roosevelt (Selker & Wasser, 2014).

Roosevelt’s actions greatly contributed to the improvement of the public health as he always believed that every American citizen had a right and privilege of better healthcare services. In his era as the United States President, Roosevelt enacted the Social Security Bill which had the old age insurance which could care for the older US citizens. It could reduce their lives burden considering the economic hardships caused by the great depression at the time. Caring for their general welfare meant that the public health for these people would improve (Worth, 2011). The positive impact of this action could be seen with the increased life expectancy. On the other hand, the support of maternal and child health improved the health of America’s mothers, their children and families and fruits could be witnessed with the reduced infant mortality rates and improved health care for the mothers and children.

President Roosevelt’s contribution for the enactment of the social security bill helped to improve the health of the American citizens. The president’s program was enacted during a time when the American citizens were desperate due to the economic hardships they encountered as a result of the great economic depression. The people were unemployed, and they were already stricken by poverty. Although Roosevelt had proposed a comprehensive health care bill which comprised of even the rejected social security, the remaining aspects were coherent for the improvement of the public health in the country. The maternal and the child health were at risk, and the old-age people were the most vulnerable and required special attention which this program gave (Worth, 2011).

References

Selker, H. P., & Wasser, J. S. (2014). The Affordable Care Act as a National Experiment: Health Policy Innovations and Lessons. New York: Springer

Sherry, M. S. (2007). In the shadow of war: The United States since the 1930s. New Haven: Yale University Press.

St, G. J., & Spencer, B. (2007). Make your mark, Franklin Roosevelt. New York: Philomel Books.

Worth, R. (2011). Social Security Act. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.