Where Was The First Private Health Insurance Plan Started? 
This is a subject of some debate and depends upon how strictly you define what health insurance is . Some can trace the origins of health insurance back to the American Civil War era though these were primarily accident policies for travelling by railroad or steamboats -LRB- which could be risky propositions back in those days -RRB- . Others point to a plan offered as early as 1847 by Massachusetts Health Insurance of Boston . Individual disability and illness policies began to be sold to individuals by insurance companies in the 1890 's . What we would recognize as the first modern major medical insurance plan was probably one formed in Dallas , Texas in 1929 when a group of teachers entered into a contract with Baylor Hospital for room , board and medical services in exchange for a fixed monthly fee . This was followed in the early 1930 's with several major life insurance companies beginning to market individual and later group health insurance policies . At about the same time the first Blue Cross and Blue Shield hospital and medical plans built on a non-profit model were formed . 