Healthcare Disparities Essay

Disparities in Healthcare Quality Jacqulin Johnson Kaplan University MT305-Health Care Organization and Delivery Professor Martha Jennings June 8, 2010 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. Let examine these ten determinants and see if resolving them can simplify healthcare for everyone. Determinant One: Lack of financial Low-income households without access to government or private sector charity programs may be particularly impacted by rising health care costs. Almost half of the uninsured low-income chronically ill have reported problems in paying medical bills, which has likely contributed to delaying or foregoing medical care (Effects of Health Care Spending on the U. S. Economy). The truth is that everyone does not make the same amount financially.

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With that said Americans cannot afford to pay bills, feed their families, and have medical insurance. High premiums and too many restrictions make affording medical insurance difficult. The U. S. health care coverage system is employer-based. More and more employees are opting out of coverage because the system does not cater to them but to the employers. Americans are struggling to pay higher premiums, deductibles, and co-payments and shifting more cost onto them will just add more pressure and additional hardship at the doctor’s office and the bargaining table. What’s Wrong with America’s Health Care). Determinant Two: Social status High-income people think it is unfair for them to pay higher taxes in order to cover the health care expenses for the poor. Rich people need to realize that the poor’s cheap source of labor is partly contributes to their affluence. Lower-class severely suffered from negative effects caused by the higher-class’ accumulation such as environment pollution, inflation, discrimination and so on. Class is a powerful force in health and longevity in the United States.

The more education and income people have, the less likely they are to have and die of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and many types of cancer. Upper-middle-class Americans live longer and in better health than middle-class Americans, who live longer and better than those at the bottom. And the gaps are widening, say people who have researched social factors in health. Without money or connections, moderate tasks consumed entire days. Then there is the issue of social networks and support, the differences in the knowledge, time, and attention that a person’s family and friends are in a position to offer (Scott, J).

Determinant Three: Education Many risk factors for chronic diseases are now more common among the less educated than the better educated (Scott, J). Patients have problems obtaining, processing, and understanding basic health information because they do not understand the jargon used by doctors. Patients with a poor understanding of good health may not know when it is necessary to seek care for certain symptoms. While problems with health literacy are not limited to minority groups, the problem can be more pronounced in these groups than in whites due to socioeconomic and educational factors.

Determinant Four: Language Language differences restrict access to medical care for minorities in the United States who are not English speaking (Access to Health Care in America). Communication is critical in order to render appropriate and effective treatment and care regardless of a patient’s race. Miscommunication can lead to incorrect diagnosis, improper use of medications, and failure to receive follow-up care. Additional communication problems stem from a lack of cultural understanding on the part of white roviders for their minority patients. In 2001, the Office of Minority Health of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services published the nation’s first standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services, which mandate all federally funded health care providers to offer and provide language assistance services, including bilingual staff and interpreter services, at no cost to each patient with limited English proficiency at all points of contact (Mullner, R. and Giachello, A. ). Determinant Five Social environments

Social environment determines how people will participate in health services. Due to limited physical movement, lack of transportation and not accessible office play major roles why people do not seek medical help. Families living in urban areas are confronted with constant challenges of population density, inadequate or unaffordable housing, and overcrowding, limited access to resources, and high crime rates (Copeland, V. ). It also guides our response to health and physical activity challenges and how an individual views health as a social construct.

Determinant Six: Physical environments People in urban areas and inner cities face problem of getting around due to lack of or no transportation method. Poor transportation will cause the inability to schedule appointments quickly or during convenient hours, and excessive time spent in the waiting room affect people ability and willingness to obtain needed care (Access to Health Care in America). Providing transportation is the Federal way of trying to elevate this barrier. Transportation helps people to maintain their healthcare, education, shopping, jobs, and other activities.

Determinant Seven: Religious barriers Doctors see a multitude of patients who do not share the same religious beliefs. Religions dictate how people interact with each other and if one person does not understand and say or does the wrong thing will be considered offensive. A key reason is that the patient’s culture is often seen as a problem, causing a barrier to care ( Tripp-Reimer, T. , Choi,). For example, patient health decisions such as going back for a follow up or filling their prescription can be influenced by religious beliefs, or mistrust in Western medicine.

In some religions people will use certain plants and herbs to cure whatever ail them. The way good relationships are built is through mutual trust in which enhance continuity of care and promotes medical compliance. Determinant Eight: Inadequate Health services Those who qualify for Medicaid find it difficult to find doctors who will accept their insurance. Doctors want quick turnaround with payments and with Medicaid the reimbursement takes too long. The current healthcare system leaves too many working families uninsured or under-insured (What’s Wrong with America’s Health Care).

Having inadequate health care not only impact patients but the healthcare system. After all, the less strain we put on the system the better it will be. Most insurance plans do not provide consumers with access to care when needed or financial protection from the cost provided care. Immigrants have inadequate coverage due to the lack of understanding their specific health needs. Migrants must have their specific health needs assessed to ensure access to care is reasonable. There are many reasons why inadequate coverage exists but with the new healthcare reform these inconsistencies will diminish.

Determinant Nine: Minorities Minority populations such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos have higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality, and poorer health outcomes than whites (Access to Health Care in America). Doctors pay less attention and mistreatment or misdiagnose minority patients which lead too many deaths. There are number of reasons why patients are being mistreated such as their social status but mostly because of their race. Changes must be made to the existing system to help close the racial gap in healthcare.

The poor and minorities bear a heavy share of the burden of lack of insurance. In 1990, 55 percent of the uninsured were in families with annual incomes of less than $20,000. Although blacks constitute only 12. 7 percent of the U. S. population, they represent 17. 4 percent of those without health care coverage. The corresponding figures for Hispanics are 9. 3 percent and 19. 6 percent (Access to Health Care in America). As improvements are made to better care quality and to lower cost there should be specific steps made stop disparities.

Determinant Ten: Limited providers Inner cities, rural areas, and communities with high minority populations gave limited access to medical care due to the lack of doctors and diagnostic facilities. The major reason why there is lack of physicians is the high cost of medical education and the salary gap between primary care physicians. According to the American Medical Association the shortage of doctors is more than 40,000 (Swift, M. ). There have been many strives made to promote more doctors in the field by offering forgiveness loan.

This only work if the doctors promise to volunteer x amount of time to urban areas in exchange to having their loans wipe away. We like to think things can be fixed instantly by putting a Band-Aid over the wound but without proper addressing, the wound will become infected. Leaders have made great strides to lower healthcare while tackling disparities that affect millions of people. Medicare is one of the biggest leaders that have tons of opportunities to leverage their purchasing power to influence improvements in the health care quality, delivery, and value.

In addition to Medicaid, there is Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) CHCS who work with state and federal agencies, health plans, providers, and consumer groups to develop innovative programs that better serve people with complex and high-cost health care needs. Improving quality and reducing racial and ethnic disparities; integrating care for people with complex and special needs; and building Medicaid leadership and capacity is the overall program goals (Six Medicaid Directors).

Congress, public agencies, and private entities devoted their attention to health literacy and health disparities. Health literacy and disparities will be resolved by empowering healthcare consumers with information, real options for care and coverage. Barriers should not be reasons why individuals do not have access to or inadequate healthcare coverage. If nothing more, it should be the very reasons why all of us should have medical care. Without medical coverage illnesses can go not treated, which could lead to the death of many.

See the doctor on a regularly bases is detriment to one’s survival. New evidence demonstrates that obtaining coverage lessens or reverses many of these harmful effects (Health Insurance Essential). The concept of managed care was developed as a method of keeping healthcare costs reasonable and guaranteeing that health care would be available to all American consumers with minimal financial difficulty. Just by observation alone we see higher premiums and more and more people without insurance.

Why you ask, bottom line it is too much money. With the economy today and the job uncertainties, American rather go without health coverage than take food out of their families’ mouths. Healthcare reform will make health care more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system sustainable, stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy (Health Care). These targets are the very same keys that everyone wants to correct but have not been able to.

Most of the disparities described in the previous text were directly and indirectly link to one or all of the objectives of healthcare reform. References Copeland, V. (2010) African Americans: Disparities in Health Care Access and Utilization. Questia Media America. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from http://www. questia. com/googleScholar. qst;jsessionid=Mc7TQMFwq1cnz7vG8XjLSMddWsGJdJTG6pY31QlWf19BQmhQv1Tv! -1082217001! 547733517? docId=5010849171 Mullner, R. and Giachello, A. (2010). Health Care Access: Financial Access Barriers, Institutional Access Barriers, Other Access Barriers, Final Thoughts.

Net Industries. June 10, 2010, from http://www. jrank. org/cultures/pages/3953/Health-Care-Access. html#ixzz0rJnY53uP Scott, J. (2005). Life at the Top in America Isn’t Just Better, It’s Longer. The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://www. nytimes. com/2005/05/16/national/class/HEALTH-FINAL. html? pagewanted=1=1 Swift, M. (2010). Are there enough doctors? Daily Record, Ellensburg, WA. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from http://dailyrecordnews. com/news/article_1757f50a-7b44-11df-8c09-001cc4c002e0. html Tripp-Reimer, T. , Choi, E. Kelley, L. , & Enslein, J. (2010). Cultural Barriers to Care: Inverting the Problem. American Diabetes Association. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from http://spectrum. diabetesjournals. org/content/14/1/13. full (2010). Access to Health Care in America: A Model for Monitoring Access. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://www. nap. edu/openbook. php? record_id=2009=31 (N. D). Effects of Health Care Spending on the U. S. Economy. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Retrieved June 19, 2010, from http://aspe. hhs. ov/health/costgrowth/ (N. D). Health Care: Health Reform. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from http://www. whitehouse. gov/issues/health-care (2010). Health Insurance Essential for Health and Well-Being. Retrieved May 31, 2010,From http://www8. nationalacademies. org/onpinews/newsitem. aspx? RecordID=12511 (2010). What’s wrong with America’s Health Care. American Federation of Labor Retrieved June 19, 2010, from http://www. aflcio. org/issues/healthcare/whatswrong/ (2010). Six Medicaid Directors Selected for Medicaid Leadership Institute . Center for Health Care

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