Socialized Health Care in 1798?

Tea partiers and what have you are always yelling about what the framers of the constitution did and did not want. A major criticism of the health care law is the unconstitutionality of the mandate, and that the Founders would be rolling over in their graves.

Well maybe and, then again, maybe not. They were not, it turns out, totally opposed to the idea of government healthcare:

In July of 1798, Congress passed – and President John Adams signed - “An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance.

Keep in mind that the 5th Congress did not really need to struggle over the intentions of the drafters of the Constitutions in creating this Act as many of its members were the drafters of the Constitution.

Now, that doesn't seem exactly the same to me, but I bet it would surprise some Tea Partiers. There has, not surprisingly, been some controversy stirred by this article. Here is someone else's article who went and talked to knowledgeable university folk, who said things like:

There's no proof from the historical record that Adams would have backed the idea behind the individual mandate in particular. But it is fair to conclude, the professor says, that the founding generation supported the basic idea of government run health care, and the use of mandatory taxation to pay for it.