Is it ever better not to have health insurance?

Patients in US hospitals can find themselves in a difficult situation if they learn they have diabetes, cancer or another ailment that will require ongoing medical care. It really helps to have health insurance, or a trust fund, Heidi Allen, who teaches health policy at Columbia University, said dur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2017-11, Vol.189 (47), p.E1466-E1466
Main Author:	Collier, Roger
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Diabetes Economic aspects Evaluation Health insurance Insurance coverage Medicaid Medical care Medical research Researchers Uninsured people Utilization
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Patients in US hospitals can find themselves in a difficult situation if they learn they have diabetes, cancer or another ailment that will require ongoing medical care. It really helps to have health insurance, or a trust fund, Heidi Allen, who teaches health policy at Columbia University, said during her presentation at TEDMED 2017. What do you do if you don't have health insurance or money? The answer to that question depends on where you live and what your state policy-makers think they know about Medicaid. Some policy-makers claim that being on Medicaid is worse than having no health insurance at all. This is mainly due to persistent myths about the program, said Allen. One of those myths is that Medicaid pays so little that doctors won't see patients on the program, making the insurance essentially worthless.
ISSN:	0820-3946 1488-2329