1928

Hoover’s Committee on the Costs of Medical Care (CCMC) conducted first major survey of American health care spending, which showed that 10% of most affluent families (with annual incomes over $5k ) account for 30% of spending on physician fees, hospital services, and drugs (Tomes, 530). CCMC surveys also showed that 18% of health care dollars was being spent on drugs, including 10% on patent medicines, compared to 28% for physician services, and another 3.5% on “cultists” (osteopaths and chiropractors): “This evidence suggests that many families allocated scarce resources to patent medicines and alternative healers rather than to more orthodox medical advice” (534). . . . “substantial numbers of Americans continued to vote with their pocketbooks against the rising cost of medical treatment and in favor of more autonomous forms of self-care.” Products such as laxatives, Listerine, and Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia “were successfully promoted as ‘magic bullets’ against the perils of overconsumption” (535).