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December 2, 1988, Vol 260, No. 21 >
ARTICLE | December 2, 1988

What Should Be Done About the Uninsured Poor? FREE

Robert J. Blendon, ScD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard University School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (Dr Blendon).


JAMA. 1988;260(21):3176-3177. doi:10.1001/jama.1988.03410210088043
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References

WITH THE number of uninsured persons in our society growing by 25% since 1980, presidential candidates, congress-men, and state legislators are once again confronting the plight of those without insurance gaining access to adequate medical care.1 In a recent study supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, those who were uninsured reported fewer physician visits and hospitalizations than insured persons, despite suffering from higher rates of ill health. In addition, an estimated 1 million individuals reported that they actually tried to obtain needed care, but did not receive it for economic reasons.2 On the face of it, this should be an issue where the popular mandate leads to prompt remedies. Opinion polls repeatedly attest to the public belief that everyone has a right to adequate health care (82% of those responding to the question)3,4 and that the federal government has the responsibility for guaranteeing it (76%).5

REFERENCES

1 +
Health Insurance and the Uninsured: Background Data and Analyses , Special Committee on Aging Serial 100-I. Congressional Research Service, 1988;, pp 101-192.
2 +
Freeman HE, Blendon RJ, Aiken LH, et al:  Americans report on their access to health care . Health Aff 1987;;6:10-16.
3 +
Fitzpatrick TB (ed): America Looks Ahead . Cambridge, Mass, Cambridge Reports, 1985;, p 132.
4 +
Melville K, Doble J: The Public's Perspective on Social Welfare Reform . New York, The Public Agenda Foundation, 1988;, pp 46-48.
5 +
CBS—New York Times . Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (Nov24) , 1987;.
6 +
Pokorny G:  Report card on health care . Health Management Q 1988;;10:4-5.
7 +
Goodman LJ, Steiber SR:  Public support for national health insurance . Am J Public Health 1981;;71:1105-1108.
8 +
Hearings Before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources , 100th Cong, 1st sess (1987;) (statement of Edward M. Gramlich).
9 +
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1988 , ed 108. US Bureau of the Census, 1987;.
10 +
Fingerhut-Grandos Survey, Inc . Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (May 25) , 1987;.
11 +
Steiber SR, Ferber LA:  Support for national health insurance: Intercohort differentials . Public Opinion Q 1981;;45:179-198.
12 +
Blendon RJ:  The public's view of the future of health care . JAMA 1988;;259:3587-3593.
13 +
Shapiro RJ:  The polls and public assistance . Public Opinion Q 1987;;51:120-130.
14 +
Rogers DE, Blendon RJ, Moloney TW:  Who needs Medicaid ? N Engl J Med 1982;;307:13-15.
15 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 73-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1973;.
16 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 74-3, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (April) 1974;.
17 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 75-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1975;.
18 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 76-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1976;.
19 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 77-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1977;.
20 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 78-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1978;.
21 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 79-3, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (April) 1979;.
22 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 83-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1983;.
23 +
Smith TW:  That which we call welfare by any other name would smell sweeter . Public Opinion Q 1987;;51:75-83.
24 +
Waldman S: National Health Insurance Proposals , US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare publication (SSA)74-11920. Social Security Administration, 1974;, pp 21-44.
25 +
Erskine H:  The polls: Health insurance . Public Opinion Q 1975;;39: 128-143.

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Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

1 +
Health Insurance and the Uninsured: Background Data and Analyses , Special Committee on Aging Serial 100-I. Congressional Research Service, 1988;, pp 101-192.
2 +
Freeman HE, Blendon RJ, Aiken LH, et al:  Americans report on their access to health care . Health Aff 1987;;6:10-16.
3 +
Fitzpatrick TB (ed): America Looks Ahead . Cambridge, Mass, Cambridge Reports, 1985;, p 132.
4 +
Melville K, Doble J: The Public's Perspective on Social Welfare Reform . New York, The Public Agenda Foundation, 1988;, pp 46-48.
5 +
CBS—New York Times . Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (Nov24) , 1987;.
6 +
Pokorny G:  Report card on health care . Health Management Q 1988;;10:4-5.
7 +
Goodman LJ, Steiber SR:  Public support for national health insurance . Am J Public Health 1981;;71:1105-1108.
8 +
Hearings Before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources , 100th Cong, 1st sess (1987;) (statement of Edward M. Gramlich).
9 +
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1988 , ed 108. US Bureau of the Census, 1987;.
10 +
Fingerhut-Grandos Survey, Inc . Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (May 25) , 1987;.
11 +
Steiber SR, Ferber LA:  Support for national health insurance: Intercohort differentials . Public Opinion Q 1981;;45:179-198.
12 +
Blendon RJ:  The public's view of the future of health care . JAMA 1988;;259:3587-3593.
13 +
Shapiro RJ:  The polls and public assistance . Public Opinion Q 1987;;51:120-130.
14 +
Rogers DE, Blendon RJ, Moloney TW:  Who needs Medicaid ? N Engl J Med 1982;;307:13-15.
15 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 73-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1973;.
16 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 74-3, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (April) 1974;.
17 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 75-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1975;.
18 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 76-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1976;.
19 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 77-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1977;.
20 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 78-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1978;.
21 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 79-3, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (April) 1979;.
22 +
Roper Organization . Roper Report 83-9, Storrs, Conn, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, (November) 1983;.
23 +
Smith TW:  That which we call welfare by any other name would smell sweeter . Public Opinion Q 1987;;51:75-83.
24 +
Waldman S: National Health Insurance Proposals , US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare publication (SSA)74-11920. Social Security Administration, 1974;, pp 21-44.
25 +
Erskine H:  The polls: Health insurance . Public Opinion Q 1975;;39: 128-143.

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