Walter J. McNerney Papers

The Walter J. McNerney papers span the years between 1934 and 1998 and fill 235 boxes. The collection thoroughly documents McNerney’s professional career, especially his work as president of the Blue Cross Association, his role in the merger of Blue Cross with the Blue Shield Association, his tenure as president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, his advocacy for better healthcare benefits for the elderly, and his central and influential place in the creation of the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. But the collection also reflects McNerney’s early administrative and teaching responsibilities at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, his efforts to establish the University of Michigan’s program in hospital administration, and his teaching and health policy program responsibilities with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Physical formats of material include correspondence, reports, records of consultancies, course and teaching materials, speech texts, publications, government documents, newspaper and magazine articles in which McNerney is mentioned, photographs, certificates, and awards. These formats reflect both the breadth and the depth of McNerney’s tremendous influence on the provision – and its expansion – of healthcare and hospital care to the American public. The McNerney collection forms a key resource for understanding the mid-twentieth century transformation of healthcare policy through the actions of medical care providers, health insurance corporations and associations, of the federal government, and of committed individuals.