Medical Care of the Poor — A Growing Problem

Mounting pressures on all levels of government to moderate the growth of their budgets and the movement to redefine medical care as an economic product rather than a social good are exacerbating the always difficult problem of financing care for people without insurance.

Abstract

The problem of providing medical care to the uninsured is being\ncompounded by government efforts to limit budget growth. The federal emphasis\non cutting social spending has led state governments and professional\norganizations to address such issues as the size of the uninsured population\nand the predicament of public hospitals that provide most of the uncompensated\ncare. Efforts to reduce Medicaid spending have led to a proposal in Congress\nto finance services for pregnant women and infants by restricting hospital\nreimbursement for nonpatient care items. Congress has also directed the\nDepartment of Health and Human Services to consider the special needs of\nhospitals that serve a disproportionate share of uninsured patients. Iglehart\nconcludes that provision of care to almost 30 million uninsured persons is a\ngrowing problem needing to be actively addressed. (KIE abstract)