Sidney Garfield

Sidney R. Garfield (April 17, 1906 – December 29, 1984) was an American medical doctor and a pioneer of health maintenance organizations. He co-founded the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system with businessman Henry J. Kaiser. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1928, which is now called the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. Life and career Garfield was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Bertha and Isaac Garfield. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. In 1933, Garfield opened his 6-bed Contractor's General Hospital in the Mojave Desert, east of Los Angeles, California, north of Desert Center. At the time of its construction and use, it was the only air-conditioned building between Los Angeles and Phoenix. This hospital was set up to provide medical care for the 5,000 workers on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's aqueduct, which was designed to bring water from the Colorado River to Los Angeles. The hospital started as fee-for-service, but insurance companies were slow to pay, and non-payment was also a problem. Garfield made an arrangement with Industrial Indemnity Exchange, the largest insurer on the Colorado River Aqueduct project. The agreement with the insurance company was structured as a "prepayment" to the hospital—a nickel a day per worker. The new prepaid financing plan was an immediate success.