II.

History

The first country to provide health insurance on a national scale was Germany. The German chancellor Prince Otto von Bismarck obtained passage of a compulsory sickness-insurance law in 1883, which was financed by a state subsidy. Various types of national health insurance were adopted by other European countries, including Austria-Hungary later in the 19th century, Norway in 1909, Sweden in 1910, and Britain and Russia in 1911. After World War II (1939-1945) the growth of national systems of health insurance in Europe was extensive, although the amount of benefits, conditions of eligibility, treatment of dependents, and provisions for maternity care varied widely.