Summary: The United States Health Status

It is no secret that the cost of American healthcare is becoming increasingly more expensive. However, the issue of the rising cost of healthcare and its severity needs to be recognized as a major problem. Health prices are steadily increasing in the United States, and there is no sign of it stopping. Since 1970, spending on American health care has grown 9.8%, which is a rate that is growing faster than the economy (“New Technology”.) Furthermore, health insurance premiums are also increasing at a rate five times faster than American salaries, which makes it difficult for families to afford health care coverage (Zuckerman 28). Therefore, it has become an obligation to address why the cost of American health care is soaring and to seek out a solution to lower the cost. Many would jump to the conclusion that the United States simply charges too much for their medical services, but there are deeper influences that need to be analyzed. The causes of the rising cost of health care are people not using preventive health care, the development of modern technology, and the treatments being overprescribed. A possible solution is to have preventive health care services available in clinics of low-income areas.

Money plays a huge role in access, therefore it is a vital issue to discuss. Within the current system, lack of money results in lack of health care, which leaves thousands of people without any health care coverage. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people paying for health insurance increased 30%, however income only raised 3% (Health Care Problems). Adequate income is a necessity and unfortunately that is not present. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average annual premium across the country is $16,000. Currently, the average annual income in the United States is $51,107. Mint Money Management suggests that about 4-6% of one’s total income should be spent on insurance, including life, disability, and health insurance. However, the averages in the United States show that the average person spends about 31% of their income on health insurance, which is not financially beneficial. When this rise in health insurance is not parallel to the inflation of income, innocent people are left without a method to achieve health care. There is a program for those who can’t afford health insurance out of pocket nor have access to it, and that is called Medicaid. Issues still exist with the program. There is only so much funding, which leaves many still uninsured. Additionally, people with Medicaid have difficulty

There are difficulties and challenges on how to facilitate and what tools to use to resolve the determinants of health such as

The health status of the population in the United States is a national priority. The Healthy People 2020 outlines priorities and to improve the health of individuals and communities across the country. Healthy People 2020 is defined as a comprehensive set of national objectives for “improving the health of all Americans” (Healthy People 2020, n.d, para. 1). The Healthy people 2020, is aimed at improving the health of individuals and communities and envisions “a society in which all people live long, healthy lives” (Healthy People 2020, n.d, para 4). A short priority list was developed and contains twenty-six objectives knowns as Leading Health Indicators (LHI). The list of objectives was created to prioritize health issues that must be addressed and to find appropriate actions to take in order to improve the health of the population.

One of the most controversial issues in politics today is healthcare, specifically ObamaCare, also known as Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has effectively insured millions of low-income American households. Under the ObamaCare, Medicaid has been expanded to states that want to participate. It plays an exceptionally crucial role in the healthcare coverage, and access for rural communities as they are more likely to “be poorer, less likely to have insurance, and less intense users of medical services overall” (Richards et al., 2016, p. 573). A study conducted by the Health Services Research found that Medicaid patients received appointments nearly 80% of the time in rural areas, but only 60% in nonrural areas (Richards et al., 2016, p. 570).

As previously illustrated, there are both advantages and disadvantages of Medicaid. However, being a beneficiary of Medicaid increases access to health care. As a result of the program, adults were 70% more likely to have a regular place of care, “55% more likely to have a regular doctor than the adults who did not gain coverage;” and the utilization of preventative services have increased (Garfield & Paradise, 2013). Furthermore, access to speciality care such as physical therapy; podiatry and hospice remain unattainable. In a multiple city audit, researchers found that only 34% of Medicaid beneficiaries were able to “secure an appointment for urgent” specialist care, compared to 64% of those privately

A key factor affecting access to care is economic inequality. Many racial/ethnic groups are considered to be of low socioeconomic status in the United States. When one has to worry about food and housing, health is not considered a priority. Lack of health insurance is a huge problem that many people face. The inequalities in income means less money can be put towards doctor’s visits and medications. Research done by Shi, LeBrun, Zhu, and Tsai (2011) shows

The rising healthcare cost is an issue that affects many working class Americans. Experts have tried to come up with different ways to make health care more affordable and easily accessible to all. Despite all the efforts and even after the Affordable Care Act, there are still millions of Americans without health insurance coverage and therefore unable to access the necessary medical care. According to a 2015 report by the U.S Census Bureau, there are over 33 million uninsured Americans. (“Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014 - p60-253.pdf,” n.d.) The Affordable Care Act has unquestionably made healthcare more accessible and reduced the number of uninsured Americans. However, there are still millions of

Mitchell (2015) discovered that, compared to white Americans, those who are uninsured or underinsured tend to lack regular sources and access to care and receive poor quality of care. About 50% of these individuals are “in lower socioeconomic brackets [with] limited education in historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, who have . . . experienced oppression, discrimination, and social and economic inequalities. [Consequently,] they experience higher rates of disease,

Health in low-income countries varies greatly from health in high-income countries. This is due to many social aspects including cultural patterns, cultural standards, society’s technology, and social inequality (Macionis, 486). In this particular study, health insurance coverage in the United States greatly differs among each state. In Table A-1, titled Population Without Health Insurance Coverage by State: 2013 to 2015 (which we received during class), the percentage of uninsured people in each state greatly differs. In 2015, the states with the highest percentage of residents without health insurance coverage (in no particular order) included Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas. The states with the lowest percentage of

Not having health insurance or having inadequate health insurance is another obstacle in accessing health care. Health insurance is how people get into the health care system. With out health insurance many of the uninsured seek health services in emergency rooms. For patients with chronic diseases this is not an effective way to mange their disease. It is best managed with a primary care physician. After an emergency room visit uninsured patients are often burdened with large medical bills. In addition to financial considerations, the uninsured are most likely to have poor health status, be diagnosed later, less likely to receive medical care, and more likely to die prematurely (“Overview”, 2017). Individuals

One’s socioeconomic status within a society affects that individual’s health. (CDC, 2013). The challenges faced by these African Americans is not just limited to accessing healthcare services but it may also involve the complete lack of health insurance coverage for example, in 2013, before the expansion of the major health care insurance coverage as required by the affordable Care Act(ACA) (Hayes, S.L, Riley, P., Radley, D.C., & McCarthy, D, 2015), more than one in five African American/blacks between the ages of 18 to 64 years (22%) and one in three Hispanics did not have healthcare insurance coverage.( Hayes, S.L, Riley, P., Radley, D.C., & McCarthy, D , 2015). The aforementioned data which demonstrates that many African American do not have healthcare insurance coverage with the difficulty encountered by some of these individuals that may even have healthcare insurance in accessing certain services, reinforces the necessity of a mechanism such as the patient navigation tool to assist those inviduals get the best out of the healthcare system.

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

Data gathered from morbidity and mortality have been used to implement health prevention strategies in many ways. Aschengrau & Seage (2014), noted that mortality and morbidity and can be used to study fatal illnesses on a national, state, city or neighborhood level (Aschengrau & Seage, 2014). This information have been used by researchers, epidemiologists and health care providers to develop prevention strategies to decrease adverse health outcomes. In addition, epidemiological surveys have been used to establish the mortality rates from specific diseases, allowing efficient use of limited public health funds for control of those diseases having the greatest negative impact on the health of the community. For example, an epidemiological

Not surprisingly, low-income families (less than $25,000/year household income) had the highest level of uninsurance at 25.4%. However, middle-income families were also affected by a high rate of uninsurance (21.5%).24 Lack of health insurance can lead to a variety of issues – from access barriers to needed services to delaying routine and preventive care. The United States Preventive Services Task Force produces and maintains a set of comprehensive preventions recommendations that aim to guide clinical and preventive care in the United States. 3 The USPSTF guidelines are employed by numerous federal agencies and private organizations, and are widely considered as the top choice for clinical preventive services guidance. 25 The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of USPSTF recommended preventive services among uninsured adults, and how utilization varies across race and ethnicity. As such, the analysis was limited to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic African Americans, and Hispanic individuals over the age of 18 who did not have any health insurance coverage for the entire previous year. Following the Andersen Andersen model of health care utilization, we control for socio-demographic factors that may act as enabling resources, predisposing characteristics, or need factors. The Andersen Andersen model postulates that use of health services is dependent on an