Healthcare Disparities Research Paper

According to Baldwin (2003) health care disparities are the differences in health and health care between population groups including race, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Disparities limits the improvements of quality health care which could result in unnecessary health care expenses. Factors that are contributing to disparities within today’s society are lack of access to quality health care and the number of individuals who are uninsured. As the population continue to grow and become more diverse health care disparities will continue to increase. Patient centered care efforts will improve health care and will assist with eliminating disparities. Patient centered care will promote patient

The ACA has successfully accomplished their goal by making healthcare accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, the cost remains high and most Americans are unable to afford insurance. This rationality is due to healthy American’s unable to qualify for premium tax credit and an increase in their premiums. Also, the cost-sharing standard silver plan reasonable deductibles, complicated APTC with inaccurate income projection, minimal employer coverage and individuals mandates with

Living a healthy life is a struggle to some American citizens, being able to afford to be healthy poses a significant challenge to some Americans. With the costs of a hospital visit potentially being greater than a thousand dollars, many Americans choose to forego treatment and hope they recover from their ailment without medical attention. To combat this issue, president Obama introduced the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to encourage Americans to sign up for health insurance to be able to afford healthcare. The ACA provides subsidies to low income families and individuals, fines businesses who do not provide health insurance to full time employees, expand existing federal and state health plans, and sets a standard for health insurance policies. Additionally, since the introduction of the ACA into the American healthcare system, insurance premiums have not increased at the same rate they have previously. But, states believed the ACA was unconstitutional because since the Senate created the fees and other charges ‒ later ruled as taxes‒ associated with not having health

Many Americans were led to believe that the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2009 would put an end to disparities in health care access. While it did improve the situation for a small percentage of the population there are still many Americans who lack access to good quality health care. Health care access in America is determined by money and those in lower socioeconomic groups frequently tend to miss out on adequate care. In a recent health care report by the national health research foundation Kaiser Family Foundation, it was noted “health care disparities remain a persistent problem in the United States, leading to certain groups being at higher risk of being uninsured, having limited access to care, and experiencing poorer quality of care” (Kaiser Family Foundation). The current health care

For sometime, many US citizens have not had the resources to acquire an adequate health insurance plan. Although faced by many oppositions, the US government has found a solution, The Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, is a US healthcare reform law that focuses mainly on providing more Americans with access to an affordable health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is said to expand the affordability, quality, and availability of private and public health insurance through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms. Signed into law by President Obama in March 2010, hence the nickname “Obamacare”, the

The lack of financial resources can be a big problem to access to health care. The lack of available finance is a barrier to health care for many Americans but access to health care is reduced most among minority populations. The irregular source of care is another reason why access to health is a disparity. Compared to white individuals ethnic or racial minorities are less likely to be able to visit the same doctor on a regular basis and tend to rely more on clinics and emergency rooms (News Medical Life Sciences).

Health Care in the US is arguably available to all who seek it but not everybody has had the same experience and treatment when walking through the doors of a healthcare facility. In many cases, people are discriminated against due to their gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income and are often provided with minimal service. Differences between groups in health coverage, access to care, and quality of care is majorly affected through these disparities. Income is a major factor and can cause groups of people to experience higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality relative to another group.

The Affordable Care Act, (ACA) often referred to as Obamacare, was signed into law March 23rd, 2010 and has quickly become a nightmare to millions of citizens nationwide. While there were fortunate people who benefited from the heavily subsidized and affordable healthcare that was not readily available before ACA was passed, many more people found that their once affordable healthcare was no longer an option due to new ACA requirements (how so?). ACA was designed to extend insurance benefits to roughly 30 million uninsured Americans. The Obama administration aimed to extend Medicaid and provide federal subsidies so lower and middle-class Americans could afford to buy private insurance. This act alone forced millions of Americans out of their

The lecture, led by Dr. Christian Dimaano, discussed a variety of health disparities and then went into an in depth look at Henrietta Lacks, and the use of her cells in scientific research. He described health disparities as the differences of health problems between races, lifestyles, and mental processes. This was a very interesting topic for me, as a nursing major, I hadn’t really thought about health disparities before, so it was interesting to think about all of the potentially higher health risks that can occur simply because a patients race, or mental state. He also discussed the social determinants of heath and how things like your physical environment, economic stability, social community, and education can all influence your health.

Thus, premature death and preventable losses of quality of life are probable outcomes. Elderly individuals may be less frequently provided the best data-supported healthcare simply because they are old. Thus, bias or prejudice against the aged may be a significant cause. Furthermore, Africa-American have poorer access to care than Whites, for one-third of core measures. Asians and American Indian/Alaska Native had shoddier access to care than Whites for 1 of 5 core measures. Hispanics had inferior access to care than non-Hispanic Whites for 5 of 6 core measures. Also, Poor people had inferior access to care than high-income people for all 6 core measures (Stone,

So this the real fact about health insurance and health ,health security is related to job security in the United States. Given this, racial and ethnic health disparities are partly economic. For example, current research has found that African American men, alongside other economically disadvantaged groups, continue to be left behind in the US economic recovery. Since most private health insurance schemes are employer-based, uneven working patterns are often associated with bad health outcomes. A new study by the Community Service Society in New York City estimated that only half (51.8 percent) of the African American men in that city were employed in 2003, compared to Latino men, 65.7 percent of whom were employed, and white men, 75.7 percent of whom were employed [.The study 's author, Mark Levitan, told the New York Times that this was the lowest rate of employment among African American men he had observed since 1979 . Levitan noted, "We 're left with a very big question.… Is this fundamentally a cyclical problem or is it more deeply structural? I fear that it is more deeply structural" .Racial gaps in male employment have been demonstrated in the Midwest, too, and in many inner cities. In Chicago, general Black-White health disparities are actually increasing.Levitan M. A crisis in Black male employment: unemployment and joblessness in New York City, 2003. Community Service Society. Available at www.cssny.org. Accessed March

Some areas in the United States face higher rates of crime and drug abuse. This contributes to the prevalence of health disparities within different communities. In order to eliminate or decrease the distinct difference between areas that are at higher health risks than others one must begin to understand why they exist.

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or more commonly called Obamacare, became one of the most debated topics around. Prior to the law going into effect there were about 45 million Americans uninsured and with rising health care premiums this number is on the rise. Proponents of the health-care legislation have called it a “landmark legislation” making health care more affordable by reigning in the costs to the people and the economy. ACA will also bring health care coverage to uninsured Americans and unemployed Americans. Opponents

Before the Affordable Care Act, Health Care in the United States was obtained in multiple ways. Approximately 33% of Americans received their health care from Medicare which is Health Care for the elderly, Medicaid which is Health Care for the poor, Tricare, and VA. Privately provided Health Care accounted for 50% of Americans, and 16% of Americans were uninsured. 16% equates to about 50 million people. Two major problems faced in the American health care system before the Affordable Care Act, 16% of the population was uninsured and health care costs were rising rapidly. The Affordable Care Act was created as a solution to these problems. Key features of the Affordable Care Act include an expansion on who has coverage, an improvement on the quality of coverage, and a reduction of costs.

Health care disparities are unfortunate and being culturally competent is an essential step toward eliminating these inequalities. In this discussion, I will review what disparities are associated with the Appalachian culture and how they affect health status, employment, and education. I will also identify two nursing interventions that could be taken to help decrease the affect that health disparities have on the Appalachians and review what the biggest challenge would be when implementing the interventions.