Health Service Funding Cuts and the Declining Health of the Poor

Examining the effects of recent federal budget cuts on the health of poor, the author reviews available studies of the impact of lack of coverage on the use of health services and of the relationship health status and access to care. She discusses the growth in numbers the working poor coinciding with funding cuts in Medicaid, Aid to Families Dependent Children, and the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition. Federal agencies that collect health data have also suffered funding but, even with inadequate data, a disturbing picture is emerging of the health status of poor children, child-bearing women, and adults chronic disease. Among the more alarming findings are an increase in the of low birth weight, a slowing of the decline in the infant rate, and a rise in the incidence of preventable childhood disease some urban populations. (KIE abstract)