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Abstract:
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An important aspect of the ongoing health care reform of 2010 is to provide health coverage to the uninsured , the rising population of which has remained a significant challenge to overcome . Previously , efforts to reduce the number of people without health insurance have been centered on a moral rationale that providing care for the medically indigent was "the right thing" to do . However , recent evidence suggests that it might be in the best interest of people who are already insured to be concerned about the rate of uninsurance in their communities because of a potential negative spillover effect . Using four waves of the Community Tracking Study (CTS ) Household Survey , from 1996 -1997 , 1998 -1999 , 2000 -2001 , and 2003 , this paper attempts to investigate whether or not this type of spillover exists and to what extent it affects the insured population . The results show strong evidence linking the community uninsurance rate negatively to the quality of care available to the insured , specifically in terms of access to care and service utilization . Therefore , the issue of high uninsurance rates should not be overlooked by the insured population since they appear to bear some consequences of this issue themselves . |