The Uninsured

Abstract

SOME health policy issues are like bad pennies; despite repeated efforts to resolve them, they keep coming back. Probably no health policy issue of this century (with the possible exception of insuring and structuring long-term care, which affects far fewer people) has proven as intractable as access to acute care for Americans who lack coverage for the cost of that care. It was a problem for most Americans at one time; after the introduction of private insurance early in the 20th century, it became a problem more of specific groups, notably the elderly and the poor. Coverage of those who were uninsured was a policy centerpiece (largely unrealized) of President Harry S Truman's administration. With the passage of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965, it was thought the issue was largely resolved. The uninsured, however, like the proverbial poor, seem always to be with us. In fact, their numbers have grown