1910

Unions and the Progressive Movement organize against hazards on the job, the first campaign for governmentprovided health coverage.

1912

Theodore Roosevelt campaigns promising national health insurance, women's suffrage and other social issues.

1929

Baylor Hospital in Dallas starts what is thought to be the nation's first example of modern health insurance.

1931

Oklahoma doctor Michael Abraham Shadid forms the Farmers' Union Cooperative Health Association, considered to be the pioneering health maintenance organization.

1945

Harry S. Truman's plan for health care overhaul fizzles after critics warn of "socialized medicine." His second attempt for reform is abandoned with the outbreak of the Korean War.

1949

The Supreme Court upholds a ruling that health benefits can be part of collective bargaining, cementing labor's role in health care.

1962

John F. Kennedy promotes health benefits for Social Security recipients, a plan that stalls in Congress with the help of powerful lobbying by the medical industry.

1965

Lyndon B. Johnson creates the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

1971

Richard M. Nixon backs a proposal requiring employers to provide a minimum level of insurance to employees. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy counterproposes a universal single-payer reform plan.

1976

Jimmy Carter calls for "a comprehensive national health insurance system with universal and mandatory coverage," which is neglected as the nation falls into a deep recession.

1986

Congress passes the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which allows employees to continue their group health plan up to 18 months after losing their jobs.

1988

Ronald Reagan signs the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act to protect older Americans from financial ruin because of illness. The act is repealed the following year.

2003

George W. Bush signs the Medicare Modernization Act, which expands Medicare to include prescription drug coverage.

2008

Sen. Barack Obama campaigns on the promise of sweeping health care reforms.