Physician Support for Covering the Uninsured: Is the Cup Half Empty or Half Full?
Authors: Arthur L. Kellermann
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Editorials18 November 2003Physician Support for Covering the Uninsured: Is the Cup Half Empty or Half Full?Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPHArthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPHFrom Emory University; Atlanta, GA 30322.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-10-200311180-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail More than 43 million Americans17.2% of the population younger than age 65 yearslack health insurance (1). Over the past 25 years, in good times as well as bad, the general trend has been one of growth in the numbers of uninsured (2, 3). This trend has continued despite substantial expansions in Medicaid eligibility in the late 1980s, enactment of the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, and incremental reforms in the regulation of private health insurance (2-4).Why is expansion of coverage so difficult to achieve? Stuart Altman, a former Nixon Administration and Congressional appointee and an expert on ...References1. Mills RJ, Bhandari S. Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002. Current Population Reports. P60-223. Washington, DC. Accessed at www.census.gov on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar2. Fronstin P. Sources of Health Insurance. Analysis of the March 2002 Current Population Survey. EBRI Issue Brief No. 252. Washington, DC: Employee Benefit Research Institute; 2002. Google Scholar3. Levit KR, Olin GL, Letsch SW. Americans' health insurance coverage, 1980-91. Health Care Financ Rev. 1992;14:31-57. [PMID: 10124438] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Dubay L, Hill I, Kenney, G. Five Things Everyone Should Know about SCHIP. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute; 2002. Series B, no. 40. Google Scholar5. Kahn CN, Pollack RF. Building a consensus for expanding health coverage. Health Aff (Millwood). 2001;20:40-8. [PMID: 11194859] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Ackermann RT, Carroll AE. Support for national health insurance among U.S. physicians: a national survey. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139:795-801. LinkGoogle Scholar7. Institute of Medicine. Coverage Matters: Insurance and Health Care. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2001. Google Scholar8. Institute of Medicine. Care without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2002. Google Scholar9. Institute of Medicine. Health Insurance Is a Family Matter. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2002. Google Scholar10. Institute of Medicine. A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003. Google Scholar11. Institute of Medicine. Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003. Google Scholar12. Short PF. Counting and Characterizing the Uninsured. Ann Arbor, MI: Economic Research Initiative on the Uninsured; 2001. Accessed at www.umich.edu/~eriu/pdf/wp2.pdf on 6 May 2003. Google Scholar13. Hadley J. Sicker and poorerthe consequences of being uninsured: a review of the research on the relationship between health insurance, medical care use, health, work, and income. Med Care Res Rev. 2003;60:3S-75S 76S-112S. [PMID: 12800687] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. Jacoby MB, Sullivan T, Warren E. Rethinking the debates over health financing: evidence from the bankruptcy courts. New York University Law Review. 2001;76:375-418. Google Scholar15. Lagnado L. House panel begins inquiry into hospital billing practices. Wall Street Journal. Accessed 18 July 2003 at online.wsj.com. Google Scholar16. Gaskin DJ, Needleman J. A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003:205-20. Google Scholar17. Needleman J, Gaskin DJ. A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003:221-35. Google Scholar18. Institute of Medicine. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003. Google Scholar19. Coleman MS. Opening statement for Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America. Accessed at www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/s030908931X?OpenDocument on 13 September 2003. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Emory University; Atlanta, GA 30322.Note: More information about the reports of the IOM Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance can be found at www.iom.edu/uninsured.Disclosures: None disclosed.Current Author Address: Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University, 1365 Clifton Road, Suite B6200, Atlanta, GA 30322. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSupport for National Health Insurance among U.S. Physicians: A National Survey Ronald T. Ackermann and Aaron E. Carroll Physician Support for Covering and Caring for the Uninsured Robert S. Berry Metrics Cited ByPhysician Support for Covering and Caring for the UninsuredRobert S. Berry, MD 18 November 2003Volume 139, Issue 10Page: 858-859KeywordsChildrenHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability ActHealth careHealth insuranceHealth surveysMedical servicesPrevention, policy, and public healthPreventive medicineProblem solvingRacial and ethnic issues ePublished: 18 November 2003 Issue Published: 18 November 2003 CopyrightCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...