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THE MEDICAL STUDENT SUPPLEMENT OF JAMA

JAMA. 1989;261(13):1973-1980.

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

CHAIRPERSON'S COLUMN

The number of medically uninsured people in our country is growing at an alarming rate. An estimated 37 million Americans are now uninsured, a 25% increase since 1980.¹ Not all uninsured people are poor or unemployed. Nearly two thirds of them are members of families with incomes above the poverty level; more than two thirds of uninsured adults belong to the labor force.² One recent study³ reported that the uninsured make fewer visits to physicians or hospitals than insured individuals.

Several proposals have been put forth to address the problem. An example is Enthoven and Kronick's⁴ system in which employers would be required to cover all full-time employees and to pay an 8% payroll tax on the wages of all uncovered employees. A public sponsoring agency would be created to provide coverage for the otherwise uninsured. One physician's group proposes comprehensive coverage⁵ . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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