According to a study conducted by the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, "homelessness can be both the cause and the result of poor health” (Wise, Emily, Debrody, Corey and Paniucki, Heather, 1999, p.445). This is a theme that has existed within the homeless population for decades. While progressive programs are being implemented across the country to provide adequate medical services, many still find that the health care needs of individuals as well as communities are not being met. A significant number of studies have been conducted that examine both the number of people with access to sufficient health care as well as homeless people's perceptions of health care administration. As programs strive to provide more satisfactory health care, a trend is emerging that the most important issue lies in the need to educate the community about different health services and their availability and to expand the reach of these services to the homeless. Despite the variety of health care options available to the public, the majority of homeless people find that their medical needs are not met. There is a wide range of services categorized as healthcare. These include things as basic as having a regular primary care provider for things as specific as dental needs or having the option to seek help from a specialist if necessary. How a “need” is defined determines whether medical needs are met or not. In a study of the homeless population in the New England region, participants were asked, “Have you needed to see a doctor or nurse in the past 12 months, but you don't Didn't make it? » (Hwang, Stephen, Ueng, Joanna, Chiu, Shirley and Tolomiczenko, George, 2010, p.1455). If participants answered yes,...... middle of article ...... as a whole. All studies seem to reach the same general conclusion: public health programs for the homeless are not as effective as they could be. Whether it is the inadequacy of the type of service provided or the lack of reach of programs, the majority of people do not receive the care they need. Instead of criticizing the homeless for crowding emergency rooms, consider the fact that they generally don't have easily accessible alternatives for medical care. Systems like the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program have spent the last several decades building a public health program that has now found insurance for 76% of patients who benefit from it (Oppenheimer et al., 2010, p .1401). It is important that cities across the United States launch programs that will improve and ultimately eliminate inaccessibility to health care for homeless people..