Health insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. The insurer may be a private organization or a government agency. Market-based health care systems such as that in the United States rely primarily on private health insurance.

History and evolution

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The concept of health insurance was proposed in 1694 by Hugh the Elder Chamberlen from the Peter Chamberlen family. In the late 19th century, early health insurance was actually disability insurance, in the sense that it covered only the cost of emergency care for injuries that could lead to a disability. This payment model continued until the start of the 21st century in some jurisdictions (like California), where all laws regulating health insurance actually referred to disability insurance.See California Insurance Code Section 106 (defining disability insurance).^* In 2001, the California Legislature added subdivision (b), which defines "health insurance" as "an individual or group disability insurance policy that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical benefits." Patients were expected to pay all other health care costs out of their own pockets, under what is known as the fee-for-service business model. During the middle to late 20th century, traditional disability insurance evolved into modern health insurance programs. Today, most comprehensive private health insurance programs cover the cost of routine, preventive, and emergency health care procedures, and also most prescription drugs, but this was not always the case.

Today, issues involving health insurance are very controversial and subject to much political debate as many perceive a conflict between the needs of insurance companies to remain solvent versus the needs of their customers to remain healthy.

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Health Insurance - Twitter Search

The GOP health care plan: ship the insurance jobs overseas! LMAO! #tcot #ocra #teaparty #p2
WWWexler (William Wexler) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:07:27 -0000
The GOP health care plan: ship the insurance jobs overseas! LMAO! #tcot #ocra #teaparty #p2
RT @KagroX: Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long.//Breaking: GOP is utterly brain dead.
lowkell (lowkell) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:07:23 -0000
RT @KagroX: Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long.//Breaking: GOP is utterly brain dead.
RT @KagroX: Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long. (via @markos)//Reading is hard :(
hardcorps80204 (hardcorps80204) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:06:06 -0000
RT @KagroX: Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long. (via @markos)//Reading is hard :(
*snort* RT @KagroX Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long.
OpenBookJen (OpenBookJen) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:05:47 -0000
*snort* RT @KagroX Breaking: GOP perturbed that health insurance bill is long.
Pelosi and liberals mandate u r family buy $15,000 health insurance or go jail. http://bit.ly/4dWHYf #tcot #pelosi #conservative #hr3962
ChampionCitizen (jay seville) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:05:46 -0000
Pelosi and liberals mandate u r family buy $15,000 health insurance or go jail. http://bit.ly/4dWHYf #tcot #pelosi #conservative #hr3962
To Sen. Lindsey Graham: Affordable, quality health insurance can't wait http://bit.ly/r2eoE #hc09 #SC #29061
ziltap (Liz Patterson) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:05:10 -0000
To Sen. Lindsey Graham: Affordable, quality health insurance can't wait http://bit.ly/r2eoE #hc09 #SC #29061

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