Health insurance and access to care for symptomatic conditions.

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Abstract
DESPITE a large body of evidence suggesting that not having health insurance adversely affects health care use, costs, and outcomes,1-8 approximately 44 million people in the United States remain uninsured.9,10 A variety of historical, political, and economic factors contribute to our society's unwillingness to amend this problem.10,11 One contributing factor is the perception that the uninsured get essential care anyway through public clinics and hospitals or uncompensated care from other providers.11 Studies suggest otherwise; the uninsured have fewer physician visits and are less likely to be hospitalized than the insured.1-4 This difference in health care use between the insured and the uninsured has been called "the uninsured access gap."2