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What is the Link Between Having Health Insurance and Getting Adequate Health Care?
There is strong evidence that people who lack health insurance live sicker lives. They receive needed care later, if at all, and skip recommended preventive care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to address this problem by expanding health care coverage to roughly 32 million more Americans once the law is fully implemented in 2014. Many of these individuals have not had health insurance due to a pre-existing condition or their inability to afford private insurance or qualify for a public plan like Medicaid. Even when fully implemented, the ACA will not extend coverage to everyone; many people will remain uninsured.
- People without health insurance live sicker lives and often die sooner than those with insurance.
- Lack of health coverage typically means less access to health care, which decreases the likelihood that a patient will get the most appropriate, timely care.
- Even when adjusted for health insurance status, racial and ethnic minorities still suffer worse health and receive lower-quality care than whites.
Health Policy Snapshot
Two-page briefs providing insight and analysis on key issues affecting health and health care in the United States.
View allPeople without health #insurance live sicker lives & often die sooner than those with insurance