Thursday, January 22, 2004

IOM Calls for Universal Coverage by 2010
Medscape Medical News story - "The Institute of Medicine (IOM) said today the U.S. must extend health insurance coverage to all Americans by the year 2010, calling incremental steps toward universal health insurance coverage "inadequate." Some 43 million Americans now lack such coverage, according to recent government data, a phenomenon that has spiked by 10% in the past three years. The IOM, an independent, bipartisan entity that makes recommendations on health and scientific policy to the President and Congress, issued its final report on the consequences of the uninsured as the issue is picking up steam in a presidential election year, noted IOM President Harvey Fineberg, MD. .." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free]. See also Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations at the IOM web site, where a report brief is available (in Adobe Acrobat format), as well as a number of related documents.