Where We Stand
Section: Health Care Access
Policy: Medically Indigent
Medically Indigent
OMA policy for health care to the medically indigent is:
- Health care delivery systems must feature equality of access for all persons at all
economic levels.
- Delivery of health care should be affected by individual private practitioners or organized
medical groups so situated as to make complete health care available to all segments
and economic levels of the population.
a. “Organized groups” include closed panel clinics, producer cooperatives in various
forms, health foundations and prepaid service plans..
b. In circumstances where it is apparent that the traditional methods of delivery do not
reach the target population, the medical profession is prepared to work with the public
sector in developing and implementing experimental and innovative delivery systems
designed to overcome identified obstacles.
- Government participation in funding of health care delivery must recognize a pluralistic
system to allow a patient the choice of the delivery system that best meets his needs,
and government funds must be available for total purchase or partial supplementation in
meeting the cost of complete health care when the income level of a family falls below
established minimum criteria.
- All types of health care delivery systems must, to the greatest degree possible, be locally
developed and controlled with peer review coming from within the local professional
group.
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1971.
Reaffirmed at the annual House of Delegates, 2011.
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