Friday, February 10 — The nation’s first college of pharmacy was founded in Philadelphia on this date in 1821, an appropriate anniversary to note that many health care organizations prescribe February as Wise Health Care Consumer Month. The “Rx” for Americans is to invest at least as much time in researching their health care options as they do for a new television. While prescription medication is one aspect of health care consumption, all levels of services and insurance are the elements of being a wise health care consumer. There are around 44,000 pharmacies and drugstores in the U.S. to serve the 290 million people with health insurance from private, employer or government plans. That’s almost 91 percent of the population. About 29 million people, or 9.1 percent, are uninsured.
Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
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