The semantics of Healthcare Access among African Americans Compared to Other Races
Eight questions based on how AA people perceived their medical experiences compared to their whites counterparts (access, income, age, sex, etc. Ex. Do you feel comfortable making medical decisions?)
- Do you think there is preferential treatment of people based on the race or skin color in the healthcare facilities within the country
- What is your experience with American doctors? Do you think they give priority to the whites when it comes to access to health care services within the country
- Do you believe there is equality in the access to healthcare services in the United States
- Do you believe income disparities among different races affect the quality of care one gets?
- Do you think regional imbalances based on the wealth have led to discrimination based on the kind of health care services that an individual gets?
- Do you think Obamacare has solved inequality within the healthcare sector?
- Do you think blacks are still disadvantaged in access to quality healthcare as compared to their white counterparts?
- Do you think there is a gender imbalance in the distribution of healthcare services within the country?
Despite the recent attempts by the administration of Obama to ensure there are equality and equity in the distribution of Healthcare in the United States, the Affordable Care is still not accessible to all citizens (Wailoo, 2017). The whites are more privileged to access quality healthcare than the blacks due to the disparity in the income of these two ethnic groups. Racial and ethnic minorities living in the United States are having a major challenge to access medical care. The majority of African Americans are poor people and low-income earners. Most of them often struggle to subscribe to their health insurance due to a lack of constant and regular income.
In most cases, African Americans struggle to pay their health insurance, and since the majority are unable to pay these premiums, they have limited access to medical care. However, when they receive it, they do not get equivalent to what other ethnic groups receive. Again, the complex issue does not involve not only the possible differences in citizens’ ability to pay their premiums or the behavior of the providers but on other factors such as the patient preferences, differential treatment on the side of the providers and the distance to the nearest health facility (Wailoo, 2017) although the past regime put a lot of emphasis on reforming the US healthcare system and improving accessibility, African Americans and other people of color, the few ethnic communities within the US that struggle to access healthcare services within the country.
In conclusion, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics population when compared with their whites’ counterparts remain the people with lower levels of insurance cover within the country. There are also an overwhelming majority of African Americans who are in the US illegally (illegal immigrants) who are uninsured. As a result, African Americans constitute the majority of citizens within the US who are uninsured and lack a good insurance coverage to protect them against any form of illness.
References
Wailoo, K. (2017). Cancer and race: What they tell us about the emerging focus of health equity. Journal of health politics, policy and law, 42(5), 789-801.