America's Health Care Crisis:
Cities on the Front Lines
A Report from Families USA, June 2008
KEY FINDINGS
All 13 cities that participated in the survey are involved to some extent in the financing and delivery of health care services to their residents, ranging from public hospitals and community health centers to school-based health centers and family support services. As such, they are deeply affected by the ongoing deterioration of health coverage in this country.
Our nation’s cities are on the front lines of the health care crisis and are affected on a daily basis by the rising number of uninsured Americans.
- Eleven of the 13 cities reported that demand for health services has increased over the past year.
- Six of the respondents reported that their city is very strained trying to meet this demand for health services, and the remaining seven reported that they are just barely able to meet the demand.
- No city reported that it was able to meet the demand for health services with few problems.
Cities reported experiencing the following situations over the past year as a result of growth in the number of uninsured people:
- Increased demand for services at safety net clinics (all 13 cities),
- Crowding in hospitals and hospital emergency departments (11 cities),
- Increased demand for mental health and substance abuse services (10 cities),
- Increased demand for family support services (nine cities),
- Problems affecting children in the city’s schools (seven cities), and
- Area hospital closings (four cities).
In addition to providing services to city residents, mayors also oversee the provision of health coverage to city employees. Here, too, city leaders reported that cities are struggling to fulfill this role amid rising health care costs.
Cities are seeking additional state and federal assistance to help them meet the demand for health care.
- All 13 cities reported that raising eligibility levels for Medicaid and/or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would ease the burden the uninsured place on their city.
- Cities ranked childless adults as the group that faces the most serious gaps in health coverage (eight cities ranked this group among their top three, and five ranked this group as the number one group facing serious gaps in health coverage).
City leaders believe that addressing America’s health care crisis should be among the top priorities for the next president.
- Eleven cities asserted that health care should be one of the top three priorities for the next president, and all 13 cities responded that health care should be among the next president’s top five priorities.
[Return to top]
