Inadequate Health Care In America Research Paper

The health of a nation plays an integral part in the overall success and economic well being of a particular country. The United Stated, while pouring more money into the healthcare system than any other country, still stands as a broken system with inadequate care for many citizens. One of the most marginalized groups of people, African American women, continually score alarmingly low on basic measures of overall health. The healthcare discrepancies between white and black women in the United States are alarming, and they reveal flaws in the American health care system as a whole.

An issue that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States’ economy is our health care system. The health care system in the United States is not public, meaning that the states does not offer free or affordable health care service. In Canada, France and Great Britain, for example, the government funds health care through taxes. The United States, on the other hand, opted for another direction and passed the burden of health care spending on individual consumers as well as employers and insurers. In July 2006, the issue was transparency: should the American people know the price of the health care service they use and the results doctors and hospitals achieve? The Wall Street Journal article revealed that “U.S. hospitals,

Overall this book discusses health care inequalities in America by documenting the need for the equal treatment and equal health statuses of minorities. The book was written to be a resource for students in public health and social sciences, also for the people who work with the minority populations. The book is a combination of peer reviewed research from scholars and workers in the field. These scholars give a political and historical view of healthcare through race and ethnicity, specifically focusing on inequalities of access and quality of healthcare that is provided to minorities.

In 2009, the number of people without insurance was estimated at 50.7 million (Health Policy, 2013). Many individuals and families have limited access to adequate healthcare services ultimately due to disparities in health and health care in America. Poor health outcomes and lower quality health care have been the result of unending disputes in disparities. Disparities are viewed as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status, and sexual orientation. Disparities have been recorded for many eras and, even with thorough changes in population health over a while, many disparities have continued and, in some basic facts, enlarged (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012). These populations have a tendency to not get preventive care or early intervention services and use more expensive services such as, the emergency room. In the past, health care for the poverty-stricken have been governed more as a welfare program. This has contributed to large disparities throughout the nation in who among the underprivileged has access to what types of medical services.

The failure to understand cultural differences is the root cause of health disparities in America. Our history of racial and economic injustice has left people marginalized, disadvantaged, and disproportionately impoverished. As the only industrialized country without universal healthcare, we are spending twice as much on healthcare as other countries. Importance of the public coming to terms with inequalities leads to demanding change for every citizen to be healthy in order to live their best life.

Throughout history, the health care system of the United States has always had some form of disparities. These disparities are a major concern in today's health care system, especially since equality is held as the highest standard in our society. But in order to understand how health disparities can be brought to a halt, an understanding of the determinants of health is needed. Health of individuals and populations is determined by many factors such as, health services, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, environment, geography, legislative policies, genetics, etc. Solutions to these problems have been the

Health care in the United States has evolved throughout the years. This evolution has lead to groundbreaking findings and understand, benefiting to not only America, but other countries. However, along with all of the great achievements, there comes some consequences, social issues. The United States health care system comes with social issues that includes inequality, cost, and health insurance.

Undoubtedly, health care is a social justice issue, because it is the product of unequal distribution of wealth and health care resources. Associatively, Barusch (2015) claims that in the United States, “the distribution of health care makes life itself a social justice issue and survival becomes a function of privilege, as class, race, and gender influence the risk of becoming ill and the likelihood of receiving appropriate treatment” (p.193). In my opinion, there are many reasons health care should be addressed as a social justice issue; 1) poor health is often the product of the “deprivations of severe poverty”, 2) without legislation, disease of epidemic proportions will go unreported due to their economic impact, 3) physician incentive plans jeopardize patient care, 4) the lack of pharmaceutical company regulations, limit the availability of affordable treatments (generics), . . .

It was stated that in ‘2008, there were over 43 million Americans without health insurance coverage (Heyman, Barnes, and Schiller, 2009)’. ‘The 2008 Kaiser Survey, about 29 percent of the uninsured postponed health care because of cost considerations (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2009).” While it might be fairly easy to

In understanding some of the reasons health care in American is so expensive, one reason centers around cost. In the United States, when a person has a doctor's visit, it cost more than when someone in Mexico goes to the doctor. In part, has to do with the price per unit of health care in the United States. Everything from imaging scans to prescription drugs, nearly everything costs more when it is prescribed in America. Take for example the heartburn medication Nexium. In researching the cost, here in America Nexium cost $215 and $23 in the Netherlands. Nearly all other countries have some form of price controls. These other countries government negotiates with drug companies and device makers for lower prices. Thus, the government has the

Health care in America has been a challenging topic to address, dating back to the 1900s. Politicians, businesses and citizens of this country all differ in their perception of how health care in America should operate. In 2010 the Affordable Care Act was passed to help set the foundation for a comprehensive health care system aiming to provide insurance to those in need. In this article we will briefly digest through the history of the American health care system, the rising of the Affordable Care Act, its pros, its cons and the impacts, the Act, has had on large corporations and employees.

Changes in access to health care across different populations are the chief reason for current disparities in health care provision. These changes occur for several reasons, and some of the main factors that contribute to the problem in the United States are: Lack of health insurance – Several racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other minority groups lack adequate health insurance coverage in comparison with people who can afford healthcare insurance. The majority of these individuals are likely to put off health care or go without the necessary healthcare and medication that is needed. Lack of financial resources – Lack of accessibility to funding is a barrier to health care for a lot of people living in the United States

The increase in health care cost induces citizens in America to develop into inhumane beings. The low accessibility to health care, due to the high price, leaves people who need treatment unable to receive it. Consequently, this leaves these unfortunate people sick and the people inflicting these high prices inhumane. Contraceptives are not readily available for everyone. People who need contraceptives for more than family planning cannot access them due to the high price of the medication. (Wagner 3) People that need birth control to protect their well being cannot easily access it. The government cares more about the money they receive for this particular medication than offering it to those in need, even if they can give compensation to

Living through these experiences, the constrained choice have created health disparities for many lower income families. As future health care professionals, it is very critical to know that many people do not have equal access to resources that could benefit their health. The community and social policies currently being uphold in

It is prudent to keep in mind that the current system leaves million Americans without health insurance. There are many factors contributing to the poor care quality. Healthcare is too expensive already and barriers just contribute to Americans not getting proper medical care. Americans want the best possible healthcare they can get and they are demanding a basic necessity insurance coverage despite their circumstances. Health care insurance needs to be simplified. In this research paper, I will examine the disparities of poor and low income individuals and the effects that it has on the minority community and