At the Maywood Primary Care Clinic, medical school faculty, students and residents care for people in nearby communities who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for Medicaid. The clinic was created by a Loyola physician in 1987 with cooperation from the Cook County Department of Public health.   

Since 1998, Loyola's Pediatric Mobile Health Unit has provided free health care and health education to children throughout the Chicago area who are uninsured or underinsured. The mobile health team reached a major milestone this year when they treated the 50,000th patient.   
In 2002, Loyola, in partnership with Cook County, opened the area's first program for children whose parents or guardians are attending court in Maywood. At the Loyola Children's Center at Maybrook Court, children enjoy a safe haven and families can take advantage of counseling, parenting tips and free health screenings.   

These important programs and others like them provide a safety net for families without health insurance and who cannot afford regular health-care services. Hospitals throughout the Chicago area are doing their part to serve the 1.2 million uninsured people in our neighborhoods. In fact, in 2003, the 96 member hospitals of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council provided an estimated $1.8 billion in charity care and unpaid charges - a figure that has risen steadily in recent years. The problem is particularly challenging for teaching hospitals. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, teaching hospitals constitute 6 percent of the nation's hospital beds, yet provide approximately half of all hospital charity care. Unfortunately, the free care that hospitals provide is not nearly enough to solve the crisis.   

The cost of serving the uninsured along with losses on the under-funded Medicaid program increasingly threaten crucial hospital services, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas. About one-third of Chicago-area hospitals run deficits every year, struggling to keep their doors open and their communities healthy.   

Who pays the bill? We all do. Insured patients pay more to offset the losses on uninsured patients. Communities forgo new or expanded health services - everything from the latest medical technology to refurbishing hospital buildings and addressing bioterrorism and disaster preparedness. Worst of all, the uninsured pay with poorer health when they delay going to the doctor, which results in more severe illnesses and higher costs, less healthy communities and the indignity of a two-tiered health system - one for those who can afford health care and a different one for those who cannot.  

Our legislators need to address this crisis. Loyola management representatives work to educate government officials about health-care issues, but it is critical that they know this is an important issue to you. The more they know about health care, the closer we come to access to care for everyone. Write your public officials and ask that health-care reform be a legislative priority. Urge them to find a solution now to the crisis of the uninsured.  

We have the best health care in the world, but only for those who can access it.  The time has come for the issue to be a priority at the highest levels of government.   

Anthony L. Barbato, M.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Loyola University Health System

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