Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Access to healthcare in the United States is often partial and inequitable. This is due in large part to a highly fragmented public-private system of providing health insurance coverage to its citizens. Yet, through incremental policy developments, the United States provides more comprehensive preventive care coverage across both public and private sources of coverage than in other areas of healthcare. Moreover, it has developed safety net programs intended to gap-fill access for those without insurance coverage. This is not surprising; like other countries, the United States realize that in addition to being just and equitable, broader access to prevention has real benefits in preventing diseases for the society as a whole, and reduce social costs. However, even with these reasons and with those previous efforts, this preventive care system still has many gaps. Worse, in recent years, even the existing access is facing an increasing constellation of external threats.

Notwithstanding its challenges, we will refer to this collectively as a "framework" or "system." This article examines the legal underpinnings of this framework, its best features, its deficiencies, the external threats it faces and some possible solutions.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

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