Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America (Insuring Health)

Hidden Cost, Value Lost, the fifth of a series of six books on the consequences of uninsurance in the United States, illustrates some of the economic and social losses to the country of maintaining so many people without health insurance. The book explores the potential economic and societal benefits that could be realized if everyone had health insurance on a continuous basis, as people over age 65 currently do with Medicare.

Hidden Costs, Value Lost concludes that the estimated benefits across society in health years of life gained by providing the uninsured with the kind and amount of health services that the insured use, are likely greater than the additional social costs of doing so. The potential economic value to be gained in better health outcomes from uninterrupted coverage for all Americans is estimated to be between $65 and $130 billion each year.

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Costs, Benefits, and Value: Context, Concepts, and Approach
• 3. Spending on Health Care for Uninsured Americans: How Much, and Who Pays?
• 4. Other Costs Associated with Uninsurance
• 5. The Cost of the Additional Care That the Uninsured Would Use If They Had Insurance Coverage
• 6. Social and Economic Costs of Uninsurance in Context
• Appendix A: Glossary
• Appendix B: Coverage Does Matter: The Value of Health Forgone by the Uninsured
• Appendix C: Biographical Sketches
• References