From “coming out of the woodwork,” used in health care to mean the appearance of previously unidentified problems (unmet needs) when programs for them are announced. For example, when Medicare was initiated in the mid-sixties, an unexpected number of cataract and hernia operations were performed; people who had previously lived with these problems had them corrected when funds became available. The term is currently being used particularly as long-term care programs are being considered, and it is impossible to predict the load of patients that would appear and who (themselves or their families) would demand home or institutional care.