Improving Access to Health Care for the Uninsured For decades, the American system of health care has relied primarily on employer-sponsored insurance programs as a gateway through which individual’s access health care services. Gaps have been filled in through public insurance programs – such as Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and other more locally-based programs – to cover elderly, disabled and certain low income populations who cannot access the employer-based market. …showed first 75 words of 483 total…

…showed last 75 words of 483 total…pay. For America as it enters the twenty-first century, these realities mean that we should be expanding coverage – even if incrementally – however and wherever we can. And we should be providing financial and other support for our safety net providers so that they may continue to meet the needs of the uninsured. Expansion of coverage and preservation of the safety net – these are the dual goals of NAPH policy on the uninsured. May 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**