Washington, D.C., May 5, 2004 - The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced its support today for "Cover the Uninsured Week," by calling attention to the critical safety net the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals provide for the uninsured and underinsured. Although they account for only six percent of all hospitals in the country, AAMC-member teaching hospitals provide nearly half of all hospital charity care to the poor and uninsured.

Teaching hospitals and medical school faculty physicians also provide care to this country's neediest patients through wellness programs, free community health clinics, pediatric immunizations, and other essential lifelines to America's health care system.

"The nation's teaching hospitals and medical schools are committed to their community service mission to care for the uninsured," said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. "But as the number of uninsured grow, efforts to fulfill this mission are being overwhelmed and are financially straining these institutions. The nation must pursue a real plan to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to health care."

In 2000, AAMC-member teaching hospitals provided approximately $4.5 billion in hospital charity care for the poor and uninsured. The typical AAMC-member teaching hospital provided $6.4 million in charity care in 2000. Other teaching hospitals typically provided $1.6 million in charity care, while non-teaching hospitals provided $227,000 in charity care.

In conjunction with "Cover the Uninsured Week," medical students across the country are holding campus events and lectures to promote awareness and discussion of the national crisis of uninsured Americans. Physicians and staff at teaching hospitals will be showing their support for this effort by hosting free health fairs and health coverage enrollment events.

In addition, the AAMC has re-launched a Web-based resource tool, "Protecting America's Uninsured," to demonstrate the variety of programs and services available to uninsured patients through the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals. For more information about this Web site, please visit (www.aamc.org/uninsured).

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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