Programs for the indigent: filling the cracks in healthcare

Until the United States establishes a nationwide, long-term plan for care for the medically indigent, individual institutions and systems must try to fill the cracks through which the indigent are falling. The SSM Health Care System, St. Louis, is doing this through a number of efforts. At a May 1987 leadership conference, system members were asked to look into their communities, local institutions, and city and state governments to see what could be done to improve access to healthcare. In addition to standard policies of caring for all patients regardless of their ability to pay, individual institutions devised varied strategies to serve the indigent in their areas. The programs are aimed at the uninsured and underinsured, the farming and rural community, the urban poor, the homeless, the developmentally disabled, persons with AIDS, senior citizens, children, and the Hispanic community. At the corporate level, the system explores public policy issues and supports legislation for funding care for the indigent. System department and entities have also taken other action to aid indigent patients.