摘要：In the absence of meaningful health reform, Florida implemented a volunteer health care program to strengthen the existing safety net. Since program implementation in 1992, over $1 billion of services have been provided to uninsured and underserved populations. Currently, over 20 000 volunteers participate statewide. Key incentives for provider participation have been an organized framework for volunteering and liability protection through state-sponsored sovereign immunity. Volunteerism, although not a solution to the health care crisis, serves as a valuable adjunct pending full-scale health care reform. AS THE NUMBER OF uninsured persons continues to increase, patients are relying more on uncompensated care from medical providers through safety nets and volunteer programs to receive needed care. 1 , 2 State and local governments spend an estimated $17.2 billion on care for the uninsured, and physicians donate roughly $7.8 billion in services. 3 In communities with higher social capital and in which physicians provide charity care, the uninsured report having less difficulty obtaining needed care. 4 , 5 The Florida Department of Health's Volunteer Health Services Program (VHSP) is a unique safety net program that has been able to leverage public and private resources to obtain health care access for thousands of Floridians while providing substantial return on resources invested. 6 We highlight the implementation and successes of the program.
