Health Affairs

Posting date: March 31, 2004

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Health Affairs, 10.1377/hlthaff.w4.157
Copyright © 2004 by Project HOPE

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Covering The Uninsured: What Is It Worth?

Wilhelmine Miller ^1*, Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor ², Willard G. Manning ³

¹ Wilhelmine Miller is a senior program officer at the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C.
² Elizabeth Vigdor is an assistant professor of public policy studies at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina.
³ Willard Manning is a professor in the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

One out of six Americans under age sixty-five lacks health insurance, a situation that imposes sizable hidden costs upon society. The poorer health and shorter lives of those without coverage account for most of these costs. Other impacts are manifested by Medicare and disability support payments, demands on the public health infrastructure, and losses of local health service capacity. We conclude that the estimated value of health forgone each year because of uninsurance ($65-$130 billion) constitutes a lower-bound estimate of economic losses resulting from the present level of uninsurance nationally.

Key Words: Access To Care, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Health Spending, Insurance Coverage

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