ABSTRACT
One of the important research questions arising from targeted programs is whether they provide access to the same quality of care as people with employment-based insurance receive. Assessing quality of medical care is a complex problem and is outside the scope of this book. The most common substitute measure for quality of care is impact on the person, or the health outcome. This is also very difficult to quantify, but because improving people’s health is the overall goal of the U.S. health care system, much effort is devoted to this, both in medicine and in public health. Health outcomes are generally measured by focusing on what are known as health status indicators, as described in Chapter 3.
