Pioneers in Health Insurance

Wall Street was in shambles and jobs and money were scarce. Affordable healthcare was as hard to come by as a new pair of shoes. Caught in the grip of the Great Depression, Sacramento and the rest of the nation struggled to emerge from an economic disaster that haunted an entire decade.

Fortunately, a handful of physicians associated with Sacramento's Sutter General Hospital saw beyond the despair. Seeing a need for an alternative healthcare financing vehicle in the early 1930s, the doctors created the first open enrollment hospital insurance plan in the United States.

Headquartered at Sutter General Hospital, the Superior California Hospital Association plan was open to any individual or group. Participants could choose their hospital and doctor, and were covered for room and board, as well as for radiography and laboratory services.

With Sutter General Hospital staff as its first customers, the plan grew over the years to cover individuals and families throughout the Greater Sacramento region.

Read more history:

• Our Barbary Coast Roots
• Mending the Miners
• Trio of Women Left a Lasting Heritage of Health
• A Rich Tradition of Medical Research