Insurance premiums are rising much faster than overall inflation and workers' wages. Knowing the history of our healthcare system is the only way for consumers to understand how rising costs impact the system today. As demand has grown, so has technology, which has steadily increased costs. Rising costs and for-profit insurers have created a crack in the system through which many Americans fall. The need for healthcare reform is clear. Solutions and the responsibility for those solutions are not. Ancient medical practice did not require doctors to have today's knowledge and qualifications. Due to lack of knowledge, doctors usually did not charge much for services. Some large employers offered health insurance. Everyone else paid out of their own pocket. As regulations for medical practice were established and knowledge of diseases and their treatments grew, costs to consumers also increased. Patients were treated in hospitals to use new technologies which also increased costs. Rising costs, combined with the impact of the Great Depression, created a severe crisis for most people. The nonprofit Blue Cross Foundation began at Baylor Hospital in Texas as a group hospital plan offered to teachers. The plans were originally drawn up to avoid tax violations for doctors. Blue initially charged all consumers the same premium. Private insurers entered the scene who wanted to insure only employed and healthy people, substantially increasing their profits. As supply and demand continued to increase, Blue Cross also had no choice but to change. The government's wage freeze caused a shortage of workers during World War II. As a result, companies were… middle of paper… are we a society willing to continue to put profit before life and health, or will we take control of our healthcare system to afford us all the rights? live healthy?Works Cited1. (http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_1/3_1_5.pdf)2. (http://www.pnhp.org/facts/a-brief-history-universal-health-care-efforts-in-the-us)3. (http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/medicares-rising-costsand-the-urgent-need-for-reform)4. (http://www.staysmartstayhealthy.com/health_care_history_inthe_united_states)5. (http://www.collaborationhealthcare.com/library-and-resources/the-world-of-health-care/history-of-health-care-how-we-got-to-where-we-are.php )6. (http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2013/01/01/the-history-of-us-health-care-in-about-1000-words/)7. (https://libertylegalfoundation.org/health-care/)8. (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/12/07/091207taco_talk_lepore)