UAW Social Security Department: Community Health Association Records
Collection
Identifier: LR000317_CHA
The UAW Social Security Department: Community Health Association Collection contains minutes, correspondence and reports pertaining to the founding and development
of Detroit’s first health maintenance organization.
Important subjects in the collection: Automobile industry workers--Medical care Detroit (Mich.)--Hospitals Detroit (Mich.)--Medical care Health maintenance organizations--Michigan--Detroit Insurance, Health Metropolitan Hospital--Michigan--Detroit
Important correspondents: Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Dr. Frederick Mott, Melvin Glasser, Walter P. Reuther, Marvin Meltzer, Henry Warren.
Important subjects in the collection: Automobile industry workers--Medical care Detroit (Mich.)--Hospitals Detroit (Mich.)--Medical care Health maintenance organizations--Michigan--Detroit Insurance, Health Metropolitan Hospital--Michigan--Detroit
Important correspondents: Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Dr. Frederick Mott, Melvin Glasser, Walter P. Reuther, Marvin Meltzer, Henry Warren.
Dates
- 1954 - 1972
Creator
- International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (Organization)
Language of Materials
Material entirely in English.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Use
Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library
Rules for Use of Archival Materials.Restrictions: Researchers may encounter records of a sensitive nature – personnel files, case records and those involving investigations, legal and other private matters. Privacy laws and restrictions imposed by the Library prohibit the use of names and other personal information which might identify an individual, except with written permission from the Director and/or the donor.
Extent
9 Linear Feet (9 SB)
Abstract
In 1956, UAW President Walter Reuther enlisted community support for a prepaid group
medical practice approach to health care. The purchase of Metropolitan Hospital on
Detroit’s west side was the first major step taken to start the plan. The plan was received with great skepticism by many Detroit area physicians, who considered the new approach “socialized medicine,” but the controversy ended in 1959, when the American Medical
Association dropped its longstanding ban against prepaid group medical plans.
History
In 1956, UAW President Walter Reuther enlisted community support for a prepaid group medical practice approach to health care. The purchase of Metropolitan Hospital on
Detroit’s west side was the first major step taken to start the plan. The plan was received with great skepticism by many Detroit area physicians, who considered the new approach “socialized medicine,” but the controversy ended in 1959, when the American Medical
Association dropped its longstanding ban against prepaid group medical plans.
Community Health Association (CHA), Michigan’s first official prepaid health care program based on preventive medicine, opened in December of 1960. In 1972, Blue
Cross Blue Shield acquired CHA and renamed it Metro Health Plan; a few years later, Henry Ford Hospital, Metropolitan Hospital and Health Centers and Metro Health Plan,
Inc. merged to become Health Alliance Plan, currently Michigan’s largest HMO.
Arrangement
Folders are listed by their location within each box. They are not necessarily arranged, so any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entire collection.
Acquisition
Records of the UAW Social Security Department Community Health Association were deposited to the Walter P. Reuther on October 20, 1972.
Transfers
A few photographs have been placed in the Archives Audiovisual Collection.
Processing History
Processed and finding aid written by J. Barr on May 25, 1995.
- Title
- Guide to the UAW Social Security Department: Community Health Association Records
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Processed by J. Barr.
- Date
- 1995-05-25
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Walter P. Reuther Library Repository
Contact:
5401 Cass Avenue
Detroit MI 48202 USA
5401 Cass Avenue
Detroit MI 48202 USA