The Mobile Medical Homeless Health Improvement Act of 2013, introduced to the 113th Congress on Jan. 3, 2013, aims to provide medical services to the homeless population. According to the King County Committee to End Homelessness, 8,830 homeless individuals were counted on the Jan. 27, 2012 One Night Count. More than 2,500 individuals were surviving outside without shelter. A mobile medical health care service would be able to reach these men and women who deserve our help.
The focus of this bill is to amend the Public Health Service Act, and to dramatically improve the access of medical services to the homeless. Many of the homeless do not have health insurance and are in need of health care services. The mobile medical services will be effective in that they can reach homeless populations and provide services such as primary care, screenings, dental care, medications, behavioral health care, immunizations, lab tests and case management. These services will also decrease the amount of emergency room visits, which is where many homeless individuals receive health care and services. The frequent ER visits are due to their lack of access to preventive and ongoing health care.
Many find themselves in the ER when they are much further down the road in their ailments. The services offered by mobile clinics/services will provide them with the means to stay as healthy as they can while receiving check-ups when necessary. The mobile services are particularly helpful for those who do not live near a hospital or clinic because the services are being brought to them.
This bill focuses on the value of health care and that everyone deserves to have health services available to him or her.
This bill will create a regulated, public service as an addition to an existing public health system. The services are intended for homeless adults and children, and will be available to homeless populations in urban, rural and suburban areas. The average cost of the mobile services is significantly below the average cost of an emergency department visit, making this act fiscally beneficial. According to the Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative each time a homeless person visits the ER it costs $3,700. The mobile services will save on average more than $800 per visit to an emergency department. This will decrease the amount of traffic in emergency waiting rooms and will improve efficiency to the general public through their use of existing emergency services.