The anti-trust suit against the AMA, 1939-1943: background for today's health planning.

Today, prepaid group medical schemes form a significant component of many legislative health care proposals. Although the concept is over 60 years old, its legality was not established until 1943 by a United States Supreme Court decision that convicted the American Medical Association and the District of Columbia Medical Society for restraint of trade. The history of that suit highlights the antagonisms that exist between prepaid group medical care and the more traditional fee-for-service system.