Baillargeon Jacques, David Paar, Thomas P. Giordano, Brian Zachariah, Laura L. Rudkin, Z. Helen Wu, and Ben G. Raimer (2008): Emergency department usage by uninsured patients in Galveston County, Texas: Proceedings (Baylor University Medical Center); 21(3):236–242.
There has been an increase in the number of uninsured people in Texas who depend entirely on emergency departments as their sole source of healthcare services. This has affected the quality of care given to these patients since the drive-in this department is acute care; compared to outpatient services which have other services such as primary prevention and patient education. Additionally, these departments have been heavily burdened by patient load; and hospitals encumbered by billions of dollars of uncompensated costs. This trend can be attributed to lack of the insurance prerequisite in emergency-departments common in other hospital departments.
Luthy E. Karlen, Neil E. Peterson & Joey Wilkinson (2008): Cost-efficient treatment for uninsured or underinsured patients with hypertension, depression, diabetes mellitus, insomnia, and gastroesophageal reflux. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 20; 136–143.
The increase in the number of uninsured and underinsured patients in the United States has posed a challenge to nurse practitioners; who must strike a balance between the quality of care and the cost of medication prescribed to the patient. There is proven ability to reduce the cost of treating hypertension, depression, diabetes mellitus, insomnia, and gastroesophageal reflux without compromising the clinical outcome in the patient; through the prescription of cheaper yet equally efficacious drugs.
Rowland Diane and Adele Shartzer (2008): America’s Uninsured: The Statistics and Back Story. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Volume 36 Issue 4, Pages 618 – 628.
In 2006, about 47 million people were uninsured in the United States; this population can be characterized based on age, gender, socioeconomic status, and racial/ethnic/cultural extraction. This has enabled the recognition of the causes, predisposing factors and susceptibility of an individual and a population to the lack of health insurance. The American healthcare system is a complex system made up of overlapping roles held both the public and private sectors; which are not only involved in providing cover for the majority of Americans, but also for responsible for the failures in providing cover for the uninsured and underinsured. The hope is that the current debate and widespread discussions regarding the issue will result in permanent solutions for the problem.
Silverman D. Ross (2008): Access To Care: Who Pays For Health Care For The Uninsured And Underinsured? A Symposium Introduction and Overview: The Journal of Legal Medicine, 29:1–9.
There are about 47million uninsured Americans; however, a more alarming trend is the increase in this number; and particularly the increasing occurrence of uninsured individuals in the moderate and higher-income families. An unchecked continuation of this trend can have devastating effects on the American economy and society. In this light, some regions and states have begun to respond to the issue independent of the federal government; which have been perceived as slow to react or indifferent.
Smith G. Dean (2008): The Uninsured in the U.S. Healthcare System (Covering the Uninsured): Journal Of Healthcare Management 53:2, 2008.
The American population has changed drastically over the two centuries; in order to cater sufficiently to this population, the healthcare system has had to adapt some mechanisms of coping. One of these adaptations is the rise of health insurance as the major mode of payment of these services. This has effectively rendered anyone who is not covered unable to access these services either in totality or in detail. While there have been attempts to alleviate the plight of the 47 million uninsured and underinsured Americans, these have not been enough to prevent the adverse outcomes to health associated with no or inadequate cover.