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Access to "Free" Health Care: Restructuring the Safety Net

Featuring Bradley J. Herring, Yale University; Randall R. Bovbjerg, Urban Institute; David A. Hyman, University of Maryland School of Law; and Richard Carlson, Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan.

The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

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On average, uninsured individuals pay out-of-pocket for only one-quarter of the total medical care they receive. Fewer than 30 percent of the uninsured report any cost-related difficulties in obtaining needed medical care. Recent changes in private health markets and public policies are reshaping the level of safety net health care available to the uninsured, as well as how it is delivered. Our panel will examine the effects of access to free care on the demand for private health insurance; the consequences of unfunded emergency care mandates; the evolving roles of public hospitals, uncompensated care pools, and high-risk pools; and new opportunities to privatize the safety net.