National Health Insurance

Health Insurance, National (NHI), program that provides health care for a country's citizens. Also known as socialized medicine, NHI began in Germany in the late 1800s and is found in all industrialized countries in the world except the United States. Many U.S. citizens favor the idea of national health care, but have not agreed on a uniformly structured and administered program. The American Medical Association (AMA) is opposed to NHI, arguing that such a program would provide lower quality of medical services.