Uninsured in America

by Sered, Susan Starr

• ISBN13: 9780520250062
• ISBN10: 0520250060
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

Uninsured in Americagoes to the heart of why more than forty million Americans are falling through the cracks in the health care system, and what it means for society as a whole when so many people suffer the consequences of inadequate medical care. Based on interviews with 120 uninsured men and women and dozens of medical providers, policymakers, and advocates from around the nation, this book takes a fresh look at one of the most important social issues facing the United States today. A new afterword updates the stories of many of the people who are so memorably presented here.

Author Biography

Susan Starr Sered is Senior Research Associate at Suffolk University's Center for Women's Health and Human Rights Rushika Fernandopulle is a clinical physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is also on the faculty of Harvard Medical School

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	ix
Prologue: Loretta and Greg's Story	xv
Introduction: The Death Spiral	1	(162)
1. From Working Class to Working Poor: The Death of Industry in America's Heartland	21	(19)
2. Medicaid, Welfare Reform, and Low-Wage Work in the New Economy	40	(17)
3. Family Matters: Divorce and Domestic Violence	57	(15)
4. Who Cares for the Caregivers? Love as a Portal into the Death Spiral	72	(14)
5. The Fox Guarding the Henhouse: Work-Related Injuries and the Vagaries of Workers' Compensation	86	(21)
6. Risky Business: The Self-Employed, Small Business Owners, and Other American Entrepreneurs	107	(15)
7. Young, Sick, and Part-Time: The Vulnerability of Youth and the New American Job Market	122	(18)
8. Mental Health Matters: A Mexican Immigrant Hits the Bureaucratic Wall	140	(12)
9. Race Matters: Health Care Stories from Black America	152	(11)
10. Descent through the Death Spiral	163	(21)
11. Moving Forward	184	(11)
Afterword: Several Years Later	195	(22)
Appendix 1: A Primer on the U.S. Health Care System and the Safety Net	217	(10)
Appendix 2: Resources for Health Care	227	(2)
NOTES	229	(10)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	239	(18)
INDEX	257