1942

Farm Security Administration establishes six rural health services and two “special area” demonstration projects, which operated for four years before the FSA was terminated by Congress. Common to all were group prepayment, voluntary membership, local administration, and income-based annual dues. Six used modified fee-for-service financing similar to that used in the medical care cooperatives: Participating physicians billed a pooled fund generated from annual membership dues and were paid on a monthly basis (Grey, 113ff.). Plan enrollments peaked in 1943 with 42,000 enrollees, with eligibility keyed to annual income below $1,800 and only $1,200 in the Taos (NM) plan; 50% of eligible persons joined the program (117-118).