Even though the economy is getting better and more people are having jobs, but there are still people who are experiencing financial difficulty, therefore it is harder for them to obtain health care coverage. Because of that, there are many people that have limited access to health care. Health disparity can occur through ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status. Because of these factors, patient care can be greatly affected. At where I work, Kaiser Permanente, we do offer services that help alliviate these issues. Kaiser does offer the "medical financial assistant program" for qualified individuals. They don't have to pay for pharmacy services and other approved services provided in the hospital. Most patients
Today's health care system is difficult to understand. It has undergone dramatic changes over the years. There are many changes that shift the movement from "an indemnity plan to a managed care system. " Not only has the U.S. health care system undergone dramatic changes, but as well continues to evolve to a rapid pace (Conklin, 2002).
Disparity limits the continued improvement of the quality of care and results in unnecessary costs. It is increasingly important to address as the population is becoming more diverse. For the long time now, there has been augmented focus on reducing health disparity and a growing set of initiatives to address health disparity in the community, As the Philadelphia
With the ongoing changes on policies in healthcare, it is imperative to consider the legal and ethical issues in health disparities and access to care based on the socioeconomic status. Research have shown over the past 25 years that disparities in the quality of care are highly influenced by individual characteristics such as race, gender, ethnicity, education, income, and age. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) recognized that providing care is not simply a “one size fits all” approach especially with the diverse population in today’s society. As healthcare professionals, we need to be alert and know how to properly intervene with such disparities so that the care provided is tailored to the individual.
In conducting reviews of research related to health disparities and lack of access to healthcare for minorities, there are several articles that cite data and methods that show the relationship to minorities with low SES are significantly impacted. According to the peer reviewed article, “Reducing Health Disparities in Underserved Communities” there is a significant disparity in access to healthcare for minorities health services among whites, blacks, and Hispanics over the past two decades. The article also cited several causes to this lack of access such as
This implies that disparities in health continue to exist despite the efforts of the health care systems to provide patients similar access to care, which according to Woolf, and Braveman (2011), suggests that disparities originate outside the formal health care setting. The authors concluded that environmental and social variables especially income and education are often the underlying causes of illnesses and are key to understanding health
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.
Many factors influence a health care disparity including location, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity and race. Geographic Location Geographic location is where we set our boundaries and how we view communities and society. It can be used to separate one group of people from another. This can also affect how people view the different locations and what they associate for each location. Certain groups face different disparities based on the location that they live because what surrounds them locally.
In a Health care and Research Quality report focusing on national trends in the equality of health care, it was found that major disparities still exist in America (Casale, 2010). Casale (2010), found that blacks received worse care than Whites for about 40% of measures, Asian Americans received worse care than Whites for about 20% of measures, and Hispanics received worse care than non- Hispanic Whites for about 60% of core measures. These statistics reflected the disparities and show an alarming gap in the quality of care being received. According to the Agency for Health care Research and Quality (AHRQ), very few disparities in quality of care for minorities are
Many people in our country have the challenge of not only accessing, but also having the actual availability of seeking proper heath care and services. Disparity is created when one group’s outcome is seen to be greater or lessor than another’s and factors such as race, ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, disability, socioeconomic status, or geographical location affect this outcome (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2015). This discussion post will describe how health disparities affect one group, particularly those living with the Appalachia area, and how it affects their education, employment, and health. There are many health disparities with the Appalachians that need recognized and considered by health providers whenever
By reducing health disparities, vulnerable populations are empowered, increasing the equality in access to health care services, quality of care and efficiency of services. The United States is currently integrating the population health framework into its health care system to be understand the different determinants of health. As described by Jonas & Kovner, population health involves primary prevention, as well as the ability to involve social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of health in a way that the patients will be able to carry out their medical providers’ recommendations about lifestyle behaviors to reduce potential complications as well as to prevent social crises such as homelessness and losing jobs (95).
This essay aims to identify and evaluate the inequalities in health care in different areas of society, namely disability and gender. Firstly, it is important to understand what we mean by health inequalities. It is commonly understood that health inequality refers to unjust differences in the health status, usually preventable, between different groups, populations or individuals. The existence of such inequalities is attributed to the unequal distributions of social, environmental and economic conditions within societies. Such conditions determine the risk of individuals getting ill, their ability to prevent sickness, as well as opportunities to access to the right treatments.
Kaiser Family Foundation (2012), health and health care despairs refer to differences in the health and health care between population groups. The health disparity generally refers to a higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group relative to another. A health care disparity typically refers to the differences between groups in health coverage, access to care, and quality of care. While disparities are commonly viewed through the lens of race and ethnicity, they occur across many dimensions, including socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status, and sexual orientation (HKFF,
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). 5.
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
Medical insurance is a vital part of people’s lives. Without medical insurance it would be hard for most people to afford to go to a doctor for treatment. Not only the cost of paying out of pocket fees for medical insurance but also for deductibles. You can also commit fraud very easily if you are not aware of how to properly fill out an application for medical insurance. There are also many different types of medical insurances that you can apply for, and compare prices if you are having to pay out of pocket expenses.