ABSTRACT
Nationwide reliance on the underwriting principle has created a vast army of uninsured. Hundreds of thousands of critically ill uninsured persons are denied treatment every year at emergency rooms across the nation. Even if admitted for hospital care, the uninsured are far less likely to receive standard medical diagnosis or treatment than those with adequate insurance. In 1987 nearly 29 percent of all uninsured persons were in families without a working adult. Some of the industries with especially high rates of uninsured, about double the national average, included agriculture, construction, personal services, and entertainment. The 1987 survey indicated that over 30 percent of all young adults between the ages of nineteen and twenty-four were uninsured by public or private sources; this is the largest percentage of any age group. Race is also an important determinant of uninsured children. At every income level African-American children are more likely to be entirely uninsured than white children.
