Combating Health Disparities in the United States
In the Untied States, it
is no secret that there are vast health disparities among different cultural
groups. Specific populations in the
United States are shown to have measured differences in incidence, prevalence,
mortality, burden of disease, and other adverse health outcomes. Although
cultural differences may play a role in different health outcomes, other
factors may be indicating why certain groups have poorer outcomes. According to
Healthy People 2020, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status,
socioeconomic status, and geographic location all determine health outcomes in
addition to race and ethnicity. I
believe that slight differences in cultures may predispose one to certain
health outcomes (i.e food, social drinking, religious beliefs interfering with
medical care). However, it is our duty as a nation to ensure that health
disparities do not stem from health inequalities, which are systematic
differences in the health of groups due to avoidable and unjust circumstances.
While looking at recent research, it can be seen that
African Americans are much more susceptible to heart disease, cancer, stroke,
and infant mortality. Additionally, Native Americans have an infant mortality
rate that is 60 percent higher than white Americans while overall mortality is
50 percent higher than white Americans. Furthermore, Hispanic Americans appear
to bear the largest burden of obesity disease in the country, with Mexican
Americans encompassing the highest rates of Diabetes disease. All of the above examples are just a few
indicators of the health inequality that exists in the United States. Legislators
supporting universal healthcare have suggested that these inequalities primarily
due to differential access to health insurance.
When the Affordable Care Act came into law, the
Congressional Budget Office suggested that the ACA will expand health care
coverage to millions of people by 2024. However, only 27 states and the
District of Columbia have decided to expand their Medicaid programs to date. More
importantly, the states choosing not to expand Medicaid are home to the highest
poverty rates across the country. While looking at cultural demographics of
adults in the coverage gap, the Hispanic and Black population make up 49% of
the total uninsured population despite being minorities in the US. Although the ACA was a critical step towards
universal health care, I believe there is no other option to combat unjust health
inequalities but a single-payer healthcare system.
The last several years, Democrats have fought and worked tirelessly to create a universal
health care system. Current politicians such as Bernie Sanders have laid out
plans that would create a federally administered single-payer health care
program covering all components of proper health care. By doing so, health inequalities
due to injustice will quickly be eliminated. It will no longer be the case that
an individual has poorer health outcomes due to access, socioeconomic status,
or race. Provided health care services from doctors and hospitals will be
forced to be standardized at a low cost. This further allows an overall
healthier population that allows all individuals to participate in the
workforce regardless of race.
Additionally,
there are advantages for the government and overall population as well. Today,
the United States outspends more than any other country in the world. Despite this,
our country experiences some of the poorest health outcome compared to other developed
countries. Under Sander’s plan, the United States will save $6 trillion over the
next ten years when compared to our current health care system. Furthermore, various Democrats along with
Bernie have argued that that preventative services save future costs of the
government from crime, welfare dependency, and health issues.
Sources:
https://berniesanders.com/issues/medicare-for-all/
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