Michael Tanner (Copyright 2008) The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health…
some people believe; it is not just the unemployed or impoverished who have trouble getting adequate healthcare for themselves and their families. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than “45 million Americans did not have health insurance during the first nine months of last year” (Young, 2013). A staggering eight in ten working families cannot afford health insurance; and most are not eligible for public programs. Nearly 20 percent of the uninsured are children. (“The…
In these examples, social class may make the big health inequalities in the United States. The health distribution by the socioeconomic status is one of the biggest social problems. In the United States, social class is the biggest determinants of life style, health and healthcare. It means that not every people who live in the United States can get adequate services.…
I agree with you, the United States health care system is very expensive. Because of this many people do not have health insurance. People how to have less income they cannot afford the health insurance because of premium and copayment. That makes them jeopardy their health. Uninsured people have less access to recommended care, receive poorer quality of care, and experience worse health outcomes than insured people do. People who are uninsured suffer significant health consequences as a result of not having insurance. Being uninsured has been correlated with poorer quality of health care, lower rates of preventive care, and greater probability of death. Many uninsured people avoid seeking medical care unless they are faced with an emergency,…
In an article titled “Closing the health-wealth gap” Kristen Wein says, “People living at the low end of the socioeconomic spectrum may be most affected by health inequalities, but poorer health doesn't exist only among the poor.” In this, the author is acknowledging that both the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy can get sick, however it is the not-so-wealthy people who are impacted more. This does not mean that the people of less money are the ones who get the sickest and most ill. Both kinds of people, the ones with money and the ones without, can get the same type of illness/sickness. The only difference would be the ways in which they go about trying to make themselves better. When the wealthy get sick, they can afford the best doctors and healthcare to help them get better. As opposed to the other people who settle for a mediocre doctor with mediocre care. The have-nots are impacted greater because while some may not be able to get the type of treatments that they need at all, the quality of the rest of their service may not be as good as the quality of the wealthy. Given this, the lack of money is the cause of the greater impact. Healthcare is money-based and therefore the wealthy have an advantage on…
provides an explanation that aims to improve public awareness of health disparities through racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities as well as what characteristics are associated with awareness of racial, educational and income disparities in health. Of particular the author focuses on education and how it affects many domains such as housing, income, access to health care etc. Far less people are aware that education also effects health. The authors intended audience is someone with a conservative ideology, someone who on average were less likely to acknowledge health disparities, may be well aware that society believes these disparities exists, yet they do not believe it themselves. This reference will help provide solutions to…
Healthy People 2010 was sent off in January 2000 by the Department of Health and Human Services. This program intended to tackle nationwide promotions and disease preventions in the communities in which they sever form social disparities in health. Social disparities generally specify as the difference in health status that are consistently correlated with various levels of latent social advantages and position in the social ladder (Braveman & Gruskin, 2003.) these social disparities in health are mirrored by ethnicity, sexual orientation, education and occupation. Moreover, there are other distinctive reasons linked with preeminent resources, prestige, influence and social incorporation (Braveman & Gruskin, 2003.)…
Health in America should be a privilege because the funds they spend on helping other countries and aiding projects around the world could also provide healthcare for their own. Also, Many European nations provide universal healthcare and it’s very successful in the regards of citizenship and so countries are for less economically advanced than the US. However, according to Hill (2011) who states that ‘’One reason the US is ranked so low is that nearly 50 million Americans –one-sixth of the population, including millions of children –have no health insurance at all’’. This give the impact on how low US healthcare system is lacking when it comes to the citizens of a wealthy country in regards to socialization of health reform…
Health is a human necessity and right, it’s also a foundation for everything we do for everything we hope to achieve. Over the past thirty years, the health care costs have increased disproportionately in America. Many people are suffering for not having money to pay for their health care costs money, the unforeseen health emergencies are tough for everyone. Disease does not constitute a physical burden only on the individual, but also puts a psychological, emotional and financial burden to family and friends, especially for low-income families, because of the total cost of treatment in hospitals. How does the low-income families deal with the situation? Often they do not have a choice but exhausted the limited resources available such as borrowing money, sell valuables, or relying on…
In 2009 a U.N. index has identified 44 nations as ranking very high in human development. Among these nations the U.S. ranks thirteenth, which may seem surprising (Makdisi 119). The reason for the U.S. ranking is due to our split spending on private sectors and the public, and no other nation expends our per capita amount. The U.S. has a high standard of living because of the healthcare program's set in place to improve the public health. Everyone is given the opportunity to have health insurance in the U.S.…
People with a higher income can get better access to quality care. People with a high income can get the best health insurance. However, a person with a low income may have a hard time accessing quality care. In Fact, a poor person may not be able to access health care at all. Language is one reason there are disparities in access to health care because some health professionals do not talk to the patient where they can understand. Consequently, the patient is not able to gain the full experience of their appointment with their health professional. The location is one reason there are disparities in access to health care. Some people live too far from a hospital, and they do not get to go the doctor much. For as, if someone lives nearby will go to the doctor…
When a person is not able to afford something they avoid it, and that is how a person treats health care. Suffering from a serious illness and knowing that they cannot afford it is a horrible thing because the illness could be prevented or treated if health care was affordable. Health disparities in the United States are based off of income and education levels. Certain groups of people cannot afford healthcare and due to that they are more prone to suffer from a disease or illness. “Clinical preventive services also improve population health. People are more likely to receive appropriate preventive services when quality assessment systems ensure that they are informed about the benefits of the services and invited to accept the services”. (Kottke, 2010) The National Opinion Research Center completed a random digit-dialed telephone between November 2008 and February 2009. Below is how the research was…
Although expensive, many innovations did greatly improve quality of care. Unfortunately, improving quality for some often came at the cost of reducing access for others. It was and still is the case that higher socioeconomic classes often benefit most from such innovations, which increases disparities (Link & Phelan, 2010, p. 7).…
The growth in the prevalence and incidence of non-communicable diseases and preventable deaths in the United States has illuminated, in part, the barriers to health that are inherent in American society. Cost, accessibility and an emphasis on treatment of disease symptoms are the most noted obstacles to the achievement of healthy Americans. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (and other similar policies related to public health) appears to be a response to these issues of practicality. Furthermore, the Affordable Care Act is a representation of the paradigm shift noted in the above paragraph. Traditional ways of understanding health patterns are challenged by the solutions offered by the Affordable Care Act for transitions in disease patterns “with a vibrant emphasis on disease prevention… through a wide array of new initiatives and funding”.2 In fact, authors Koh and Sebelius of the article Prevention and the Affordable Care Act, hail the Affordable Care Act as a vehicle that will usher ‘prevention’ into the American schema of health and wellness.…
The United States has a unique system of health care delivery. It is unlike any other health care system in the world. Most developed countries have national health insurance programs run by the government and financed through general taxes. Almost all citizens in such countries are entitle to receive health care services. Such is not the case in the United States, where not all Americans are automatically covered by health insurance. (Shi & Singh, 2008)…