In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the first U.S. universal health care law. The guiding principle behind the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is that everyone (i.e. 100 percent, no exceptions) has a right to health care, although the services available are limited.
The law sounds magnanimous, but Congress failed to provide any funding for it. This left the private sector on the hook for all unpaid services. It is promising that Congress saw the need for universal health care, but it is disappointing that Congress did not pass a fairer way to finance it nor build on the good work and expand the services covered.
If this sounds like some fairy tale, look into EMTALA. It is one example of how mixed messages from Congress have disrupted and complicated health care coverage.
