Equity in Access to Child Health Insurance in the United States

Abstract

In an article that appeared in the New York Times on September 10, 2000, David E. Rosenbaum explicated the paradox that continues to define US medicine.(1) "In an era of unrivalled prosperity, Americans express confidence in their ability to handle most, if not all, economic concerns." He goes on to say, "The authorities and the public have begun to doubt whether costs for medical care can ever be contained, or that a practical way exists to provide insurance for all citizens. The only economic indicator that worsened in recent years is the number of Americans without health insurance. In the United States, we can make a case that what is economically rational is politically unacceptable." As the US and global economy vacillates in and out of recession, the opportunity to alter the course of US politics to effect significant change in access to health care for all Americans seems to be sliding further and further from our grasp.