Safety Net Care: The Uninsured’s ‘Insurance’

The rise of America’s uninsured population is growing. It’s an epidemic that affects many areas. Obviously, those uninsured have worse overall health outcomes than those insured. Several factors figure in. There is often the lack of continuous care. Uninsured patients also are less likely to with follow-up or recommended treatment. Statistics show that the uninsured often ignore or overlook medical help even when obviously needed, such as an injury or a new chronic problem.

However, America has come up with a solution. The U.S. safety net system is the United States providing emergency care to individuals in spite of their ability to pay. The safety net system is a composite of providers, hospitals, and CHCs (community health centers) which, by federal mandate, provide health care to those in need who cannot pay for medical care. It’s a wonderful concept and relief to those who use it. Many of the uninsured frequently depend on emergency rooms. CHCs, or safety net hospitals as a substitute for health insurance.

The safety net system, however, depends on a variety of sources of revenues These include local, state, and federal funds, which are influenced by state and federal policies. Often funds are reallocated away from safety net as state and federal public policymakers try to contain health care costs and expand coverage. Recent proposals have reduced Medicaid funding, and created workforce shortages. State initiatives to increase such coverage have even unintentionally threatened the safety net’s ability to provide care.

Even when greater funding has been provided, many CHCs have difficulty recruiting physicians to work in their centers. Some CHC administrations have noted that large portions of the federally allocated funds are used to compensate or recruit medical professionals.

This is only a small tip of the iceberg showing the myriad of problems for the safety net system. Over 47 million Americans are uninsured and that number is expected to increase as more people are unable to afford private insurance. It will continue to increase as federal policymakers limit eligibility and funding for public insurance. There is also the factor that the actual demand for safety net care is increasing as there are more in need of dental care, specialty services, prescription drugs, and mental health care.

States, communities, the government, as well as individual citizens have a huge responsibility to insure that the safety net can continue with their mission. We have to ensure that the safety net has the ability to cope with financial and workforce constraints, so they can continue to provide care to the poorest and most vulnerable of America’s citizens.

Leave a Reply