The Physicians Committee was founded in Washington D.C. on March 27, 1962 by 29 doctors to lobby for health insurance for the elderly financed through the Social Security system. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn was chairman and Mrs. Genevieve Goldy and later Mrs. Vera Mayer were executive directors. The Committee's lobbying activities consisted of soliciting support from doctors and congressmen, distributing 45,000 pamphlets, testifying before congressional committees, and seeking newspaper, radio and television publicity. The Committee disbanded after the passage of Medicare in July 1965.
