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Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD, MBA; Drummond Rennie, MD; Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2008;300(16):1941-1942.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Based on several factors, the current general health of the United States is considerably less than optimal. The nation remains involved in a protracted war in Iraq, which has been costly in terms of financial expenditures, but even much more importantly, in the thousands of lives lost and many more individuals severely injured. Numerous regions of the country are just beginning to recover from recent devastating tropical storms that caused extensive property damage and severe flooding. The nation's financial systems are in crisis, requiring an unprecedented $700 billion federal bailout in an attempt to stabilize the economy.

The nation's health care system also remains suboptimal. Despite the United States having the world's highest per capita health expenditures, the numbers of uninsured and underinsured remain high, estimated at 45.7 million and 25 million, respectively.^1-2 Health care costs continue . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: Dr Fontanarosa (phil.fontanarosa@jama-archives.org) is Executive Deputy Editor, Dr Rennie is Deputy Editor, and Dr DeAngelis is Editor in Chief, JAMA.

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