More than 6,600 uninsured or underinsured patients saw doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals during the weeklong free clinic run in Los Angeles by the Tennessee-based nonprofit Remote Area Medical. The patients illustrate both the short- and the long-term challenges facing the medical community as tens of millions of uninsured Americans are folded into the nation's healthcare system in coming years, the Los Angeles Times reports. Advocates say it remains important to match patients with regular care now. Otherwise, chronic conditions will worsen, and costs will continue to rise as the uninsured await sweeping changes to national healthcare passed by Congress in March and signed into law by President Obama.
