The price, quality, and accessibility of healthcare unfortunately differs greatly between groups and is reflective of other, more broad inequalities as well. This can include people of certain racial or ethnic groups, religions, socioeconomic status, etc., and with certain mental health conditions, sexual orientations, and so on. Not only do disparities present themselves in quality of care and access to things such as health insurance coverage, but the wide gaps between groups also show a health disparity. This means that there is a preventable difference in the amount of disease or violence between groups in society. So not only are typically disadvantaged groups more prone to health burdens, but they are also more likely to struggle to get care.

One specific example of how illness may disproportionately affect certain groups is the COVID pandemic. Data indicates that Black, American Indian, Hispanic, and low-income groups were much more likely to become ill and be hospitalized, and significantly less likely to receive the vaccine. So, in comparison to a very large number of cases, deaths, and population numbers, the numbers of distributed vaccines to these areas are very low. Because of the inequitable access to healthcare, these marginalized groups have lower level of protection against illness. This lower level of protection puts them at higher risk for illness and continues the cycle.

However, these problems existed well before the pandemic. This has continuously been a trend that needs to be addressed for the sake of not only our minority groups, but for the whole country. If it is not enough to care for the groups that are suffering without health coverage, it is worth noting that this limits the health of the whole country and may lead to huge economic losses. With the population growing, it is extremely important to address this issue now.

People who are uninsured are largely minority groups, but it is a problem that can affect anybody. Being uninsured leads to a lack of medical care and overall poorer health, higher mortality, and higher disability rates. I feel it is very important to have compassion and not consider yourself better or more hardworking than someone because you are healthy and insured, but instead consider the circumstances that they have found themselves in. Understand that things like poverty and healthcare are cyclical, and it is a hard cycle to break. Compared to other countries, I believe that our nation’s healthcare system is a complete joke and there is much that could be done to mend the issue that would be better for everyone individually as well as the economy. I will be discussing things that could possibly be done in later posts.  Overall, I do believe in the possibility of a world where everyone has equal access to healthcare and no one has to go broke because of a hospital visit.

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-5-key-question-an