Tackle Homelessness, Lower Health Care Costs

Homelessness and health care are inextricably linked; the conversation about one simply cannot happen without addressing the other. A thorough understanding of the health costs associated with homelessness must be included in the debate surrounding health care reform. I think HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said it best: "If we want to talk health care reform, including lowering costs, we must tackle homelessness'

Homelessness and health care are cyclically linked. Homelessness can be a burden on our health care system, and a lack of health care can cause/aggravate homelessness. These are the points made resoundingly clear by Nan Roman, President of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, in a Huffington Post piece this week.

She noted four important points that should be circulated widely:

1. Not everyone living in poverty is eligible for Medicaid.
Non-disabled, childless adults are not eligible. Mothers with health conditions with children in healthcare are not eligible. Young adults aging out of foster care are not eligible. The list goes on.

2. Not every eligible homeless person is enrolled in Medicaid.
A 1996 nationwide study found that only 25 percent of single homeless adults were enrolled in Medicaid. So what do the remaining 75 percent do when they need to be treated? See point number three.

3. Leaving homeless people uninsured is costly and ineffective.
With fewer resources and less access to medical care, uninsured homeless people will often leave medical conditions untreated. When their health becomes so poor that they do seek treatment, they will often go to the emergency room. This is taxing for both a person's health, hospital resources, and communities who must foot the bill.

4. Poor health and expensive healthcare are causes of homelessness.
Untreated illness leads to disability, which leads to an inability to work, which leads to job loss. Unemployment remains the leading cause of homelessness. Medical expenses - insured or not - are the leading cause of bankruptcy. In other words, health care reform may have a huge, unintended effect: preventing homelessness.

Health care reform has the potential to benefit many people, but particularly those who are most vulnerable among us.

Image: Center for American Progress