Poor Families in America's Health Care Crisis

"This book provides evidence in rich and specific detail of the 'human experience of dealing with serious adversity'. An important message of this book is the consequences for health of uncertainty in the structural conditions and personal lives of the working poor -- "physical and social environments that seem to attack and undermine an impoverished family's every effort to get ahead." Rich qualitative data give these findings the context and specificity of personal experiences and stories." -Thomas S. Weisner, University of California, Los Angeles "Poor Families in America's Health Care Crisis is an important and timely book. Ronald J. Angel, Laura Lein, and Jane Henrici have analyzed rich data collected in selected neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio to provide a compelling account of the health of poor families and their untreated medical conditions. The information in this book is disturbing, but it is a must read for those concerned about the lack of health insurance and access to health care for millions of American families." -William Julius Wilson, Harvard University 'Women and children first' has come to mean that, when poor, they are the first to suffer the gaps, delays, disrespect and lack of care endemic to the United States' two tiered health care system. Poor Families in America's Health Care Crisis makes these stories vivid and specific as the book's analysis is anchored to real people's experiences. The book should fuel our determination and equip us to fix this cruel situation." -Wendy Chavkin, Columbia University