Health policy and the uninsured /

This edited text includes contributions from leading scholars in economics, health insurance, health policy, the social sciences, and research methods. Its goal is to help readers understand which individuals lack health insurance, and why; and what, if any, causal relationships exist between health insurance and health status. Offering the state of the science as of 2003, this book is an important tool from the Economic Research Initiative on the Uninsured, funded by the RWJ Foundation, for use by policy makers. It explores six areas of current knowledge and identifies gaps: 1) who the uninsured are and how many exist in the US, 2) the reasons for lack of insurance coverage (choice, unavailable, cannot afford), 3) interaction between health insurance and labor force participation (entry, exit, part-time), 4) health consequences of being uninsured, 5) special needs of vulnerable populations (access, poverty, discrimination, impaired decision-capacity), and 6) analyses of structural models and methodological issues arising from studies of the insured. Each well-written chapter critiques current knowledge; identifies gaps, limitations, and needed studies; offers definitions where appropriate; and supports analyses with tables, charts, and drawings. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals and practitioners. J. E. Thompson Western Michigan University