title: Donated care programs: a stopgap measure or a long-run alternative to health insurance?
abstract: In the absence of broad federal health care reform, interest has grown in local solutions to the problem of providing health care to the uninsured. Community-based donated medical care models have emerged as one alternative. We examine the early experience of a donated care program in southern Maine called CarePartners. Although such programs are often viewed as a short-term solution for those temporarily without health insurance, we find that CarePartners served a different role for many individuals. While clearly a stopgap measure for some enrollees, CarePartners appears to be a longer-term means for getting access to care for most enrollees.
authors.affiliation: College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA. kullgren@msu.edu
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kullgren
authors.forename: Erin Fries
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Catherine G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008281:Maine; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D017664:Uncompensated Care