How Presidents Have Changed Insurance

How Presidents Have Changed the Insurance Industry Across History:

1. In 1916 The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson. The law only required reimbursement due to work related injury’s for federal employees, but it set the stage for state laws that would mandate workers comp coverage, and individual and group policies for long and short term disability insurance.
2. The Social Security Act of 1935 started Federal old-age benefits, and began making grants to states to assist the elderly, the blind, and support public health and unemployment compensation programs among other things.
3. In 1938 the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation was created to experiment with the earliest forms of crop insurance. The program was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts to help farmers through the Dust Bowl. Initial participation was very low.
4. In 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law.
5. In1969 Richard Nixon opened up Social Security to people who had been severely disabled long term and people with advanced renal disease.
6. In 1970 Richard Nixon signed into law the Fair Credit Reporting Act giving consumers the right to monitor their credit and have errors on their report corrected.
7. In 2002 George W. Bush enacted the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The act allowed the government and private companies to share the expense of claims related to terrorism. The program was revised and expanded in 2007, and again under Barack Obama in 2014.
8. In 2010 Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act opening up state and federal sponsored exchanges, requiring companies to accept individuals with pre-existing conditions, and mandating All Americans have health insurance, among other things.