The findings from seven studies on the effects of the 1974-75 economic recession on the health care of low socioeconomic status individuals are summarized. The studies include: (1) an evaluation of the impact of adverse economic conditions on the health status of the poor; (2) the effects of unemployment and inflation on the utilization of hospital-based ambulatory care; (3) the impact of varying economic conditions on the use of community hospitals in Rhode Island; (4) access to ambulatory care and the U.S. economy; (5) descriptive and behavioral analyses of health insurance loss due to unemployment; (6) the impact of rising unemployment on the loss of job-related health insurance coverage; and (7) the impact of national economic conditions on publicly financed health care of the poor. In general, study findings indicate that the effects of the 1974-75 recession on the health care of the disadvantaged were adverse to a significant degree, but were not as severe as anticipated. (Author/GC)