Fouding Fathers signed 1st health mandate
 

In July, 1798, Congress passed, and President John Adams signed into law "An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen," authorizing the creation of a marine hospital service, and mandating privately employed sailors to purchase healthcare insurance.

This legislation also created America's first payroll tax, as a ship's owner was required to deduct 20 cents from each sailor's monthly pay and forward those receipts to the service, which in turn provided injured sailors hospital care. Failure to pay or account properly was discouraged by requiring a law violating owner or ship's captain to pay a 100 dollar fine.

http://open.salon.com/blog/paul_j_or...-212_years_ago

Just read the actual bill. It was only for seamen coming home from a "foreign voyage"

I have no idea why that was. Perhaps because back then it was so dangerous to make long sea voyages and disease was rampant, etc. It may have been the only way to get sailors to agree to take long cross-Atlantic voyages which of course were desperately needed for commerce and trade for the U.S.

Not much in common with any health insurance scam bill that we now have. This was actually set up to TREAT them. Not pay for insurance for overcharging for medical procedures.

EDIT: http://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/1StatL605.pdf

2nd Edit: By the way...that wasn't the "Founding Fathers" This was the FIFTH congress in 1798 that did that. The founding fathers were about 20 years earlier. That would be like saying that JFK and Ronald Reagan were both the same time period as president.

John Adams was the 2nd President of the United States. The first Vice President, for 2 terms. Most definitely very qualified as a Founding Father.

Ah yes. John Adams the first and only Federalist Party President. He was indeed a founding father. But he didn't write that bill. The Congress did. The FIFTH Congress, not the first.

Much like our current president did not write the Mandated Insurance Bill (or as we call it "health reform"), the current congress did that too.

Correction the insurance companies wrote the bill.

You know it sure seems that way. The government keeps shoving it down our throat that "we" won and the insurance companies lost. But if I had a business and the govt. forced everybody to buy my product...I don't think I'd be shedding any tears.

Welp.. looks like Robbie handled that pretty quickly

Being 2nd president doesn't make him a founding father IMO. Signing the Declaration of Independence does.

huh huh huh, he said Seaman.

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy...nal/beavis.jpg

p.s. are you still suffering from the ONE BRAIN CELL EFFECT?

More about the Marine Hospital Service, the first Surgeon General, etc..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Hospital_Service

"He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States."
... "he played a leading role in persuading Congress to adopt the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

Do your research and homework, before spewing nonsense.

It seems that way because they did. They are shedding tears of joy. "We" will be shedding tears of pain and agony. Wrote it? They didn't even read it. The only thing they read is the figures they will get paid for voting on it.

The same guys behind the US Constitution. The dudes behind the Federalist Papers. And finally, the same guys behind the then uniquely American concept of Judicial Review (Marbury v Madison) -- John Marshall, the Justice who wrote that decision, was a Federalist.

Yep Justice Marshall was indeed a Federalist. I don't personally agree with the way Federalist wanted to run the govt.
But if you do that's cool.

By the way I was never that big of a supporter of the Whig party a few decades later either. heh-heh

I'm more of a Jeffersonian kind of guy as far as founding fathers go. And I'm always partial to Benjamin Franklin because of his love of drugs and prostitutes. Now THAT is a guy I'd party with! :pimp

Anyway, just wanted to point out that the original title of this thread was "Founding Fathers signed 1st health mandate" which I suppose was a backhand way of saying that the true Founding Fathers of our country would agree with forcing every U.S. citizen to buy health insurance against their will.

I would say that is very debatable. And in that debate I would say "NO", the founding fathers would be horrified at the size and scope of our govt. and the dependency of so many people that suck the tit of the Nanny State. But that's just my opinion.

As I said, I'm more of a "take care of yourself" kind of guy. I'm from a family that has never taken govt handouts. My grandfather is now on social security (he's 90 years old)

But since he was a millionaire citrus owner and paid more in taxes every year than most people make in a lifetime...he could live to be 200 years old and NEVER get back all the money he put in to social security.

And I'm in the same boat. In the last decade I have paid more in taxes and FICA than I will ever get back if there even is a social security solvent when I hit that age.