Report

Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America

Released:: June 18, 2003
Type:: Consensus Report
Topic(s):: Health Services, Coverage, and Access, Select Populations and Health Disparities
Activity:: Consequences of Uninsurance
Board(s):: Board on Health Care Services

Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America, the fifth of a series of six reports on the consequences of uninsurance in the United States, illustrates some of the economic and social losses to the country of maintaining so many people without health insurance. The report explores the potential economic and societal benefits that could be realized if everyone had health insurance on a continuous basis, as people over age 65 currently do with Medicare.

In the report, the Committee concludes that the estimated benefits across society in health years of life gained by providing the uninsured with the kind and amount of health services that the insured use are likely greater than the additional social costs of doing so. The potential economic value to be gained in better health outcomes from uninterrupted coverage for all Americans is estimated to be between $65 and $130 billion each year.

Report at a Glance

Report Brief: Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America (PDF) (PDF)

Report Brief: Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America (Spanish) (PDF)

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Other Reports by this Activity

Displaying: 3 of 6 Reports

Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations The report is the culmination of a series that offers the most comprehensive examination to date of the consequences of lack of health insurance on individuals, their families, communities and the whole society. The principles to guide health finance reform that are recommended in this sixth and final report of the series are based on the evidence reviewed in the Committee's previous five reports and on new analyses of past and present federal, state, and local efforts to reduce uninsurance.
Released: January 13, 2004
Uninsurance in America The report, Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations was released to the public on Wednesday, January 14, 2004.
Released: April 16, 2003
A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance is the fourth of a series of six reports on the problems of uninsurance in the United States. The report examines how the quality, quantity, and scope of health services within the community can be affected adversely by having a large or growing uninsured population.
Released: April 2, 2003