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Last year, 180 million Americans got their healthcare from their jobs. While this may seem like a great employment perk, millions don't seek new opportunities because they're afraid to go without benefits. 

Employer-sponsored insurance is a system so familiar today, it may seem to many like the natural order of things. But it's actually a century-old invention designed to save U.S. hospitals.

In the first two decades of the 20th century, there was a medical care revolution. Physician training was standardized, medicine was improving (thanks largely to arrival of antibiotics), and hospitals were transitioning from almshouses where the sick went to die, to institutions of reliable care.

With improved services came spikes in medical bills, which most people couldn't afford to pay. That often left hospitals in massive debt. That was certainly the case for Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas, when an administrator came up with a solution to save the hospital. In 1929, he offered a group of city school teachers a deal — pay 50 cents a month into a hospital plan, and everyone who signs up gets guaranteed care at radically reduced rates. The idea — which merged health insurance with employment — became a regional and then national sensation, and led to the creation of Blue Cross Blue Shield.

WWII helped make employer-sponsored care even more of a national phenomenon. Because of both a labor shortage and a wage cap, businesses discovered they could entice workers by offering them benefits like healthcare. The IRS passed a couple of tax laws that gave breaks to both bosses and employees, making it an even sweeter deal for everyone.

So sweet that today we have an insurance system split largely in two — about 1 on 4 Americans receive either Medicare or Medicaid, while more than half get their care through their jobs. Critics say it is a system that it is both a $260 billion annual drain on the Treasury Department, and a system that thwarts innovation.

How did we end up with this system that many say isn't working? Christopher Johnson, a reporter with WNYC’s health desk, explores that question as part of our series, "Your Healthcare: What Happened?"

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich