Can Universal Insurance Ensure Access to Healthcare?

Abstract

. . . providing health insurance does not ensure equitable access to care. Moreover, all health insurance programs are not alike and the minimal packages may not suffice. There are several types of access problems, including a lack of health insurance and/or an inability to pay for medical services, a lack of local health service providers, an insufficient amount of health information, and social barriers to receiving health services. Together, these access problems present a many-layered obstacle to providing equitable health care. Once the ACA diminishes the first barrier to receiving health services by lowering the number of uninsured citizens to 8 percent and making health services more affordable, a critical concern becomes how to provide health services for the newly insured. . . . Thus, ensuring access to care involves not only providing health insurance and medical services, but also health information. [From Introduction]