AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

Current news on health care reminds us of Abraham R. Bullis, Jeanette A. and Charles R. 's grandfather, who was a physician in Macedon and Farmington in the mid-1800s.  Life was much simper then and so was health care. It was also much more affordable. And people back then did not have the option of health insurance.

From what we can find in various informational sources, health care insurance was first available around 1910 and HMOs grew in popularity in the 1970s. So how did people in the 1800s afford health care? Some folks were able to pay their doctor a standard fee upfront, of course. Others paid what they could, when they could. Still others used the barter system, giving doctors farm goods or services of one type or another.

You can get an idea of the 1800s health-care expense by looking at Dr. Bullis's account books that are in this collection. They contain amounts received but do not indicate any amounts that may have been owed. We're confident, however, that no one was refused medical care by Dr. Bullis or any of his colleagues due to their inability to pay. But then, as we said, those were simpler times.