Access to care as a component of health system reform.

摘要

THE PRESSING INTEREST AND CURRENT ACTIVITY SUR-rounding health care access and health system reform by physicians, other health care professionals, policy makers, and'the public is well justified and increasingly urgent. Health care expenditures in the United States are at an all-time high and are projected to exceed dollar2 trillion in 2006,1 with Medicare and Medicaid accounting for more than dollar400 billion and more than dollar300 billion,1 respectively. At the same time, the number of individuals with inadequate health insurance coverage also has reached an all-time high: nearly 47 million are uninsured and at least 16 million more are underinsured.