Overburdened and overwhelmed: the struggles of communities with high medical cost burdens.
The number of people with potentially high medical cost burdens varies widely across the nation, reflecting differences in the number of people who lack health insurance coverage and people who have coverage but nevertheless have high costs relative to their income. To address this problem, many states are undertaking expansions of insurance coverage, but federal support will be critical, particularly in states with large numbers of low-income residents.
Center for Studying Health System Change, Washington, DC, USA. pcunningham@hschange.org
Peter J
PJ
Cunningham
D017281:Cost of Illness; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009111:Local Government; D008483:Medical Assistance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011203:Poverty; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States