I just finished reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. It is a synopsis or recounting of the adventures of the Corps of Discovery, The Lewis and Clark expedition. Captain Clark apparently developed quite a reputation as a physician among the Plains Indians. He held clinics in which the patient paid for his/her care with supplies essential to the success of the venture.
Once, an aged man came to Clark complaining of pain in his knee and thigh. As Clark prepared treatment, the old man's son told Clark that the process was a waste, as his father was old, useless, and soon would die.
Thus we have perhaps the earliest articulation of the Ryan Medicare plan in American History.
