understanding of social justice
Many Americans find it quite challenging to reconcile their understanding of social justice with the fact that at least 35 million people, both dependents and employed, are unable to access primary healthcare. It is commendable that the government and health agencies and individuals are trying to keep up with the increasing requests for the services amid the budget constraints. Not only are Americans losing their insurance coverage due to the restraining policies, but the size of the vulnerable population of Americans is also growing. One big challenge in the endeavor to ensure justice is realized in the country is the poor access to healthcare.
Barriers to access to healthcare include the high cost of care and no insurance and coverage as well as the poor availability of services. This jeopardizes the principle of social justice that is one of the ethical principles of health service delivery. Besides, the size of the workforce is also quite variable in relation to the size of the population. Notably, the size is quite unreasonable in the care for the older population, which seems to have higher morbidity than the rest of the population.
The difference in the distribution, composition, and the size of the healthcare workforce is often considered when formulating policies. Programs have been developed within the Public Health Service to address these disparities that exist in access to healthcare. Nonetheless, despite the improvement regarding geographic access to health services, the distribution of practitioners continue to be a delicate issue of concern. Therefore, to address the question of access to healthcare as a national health issue, it would be prudent to come up with policies that would also address the distribution of healthcare practitioners as well as the question of healthcare cost. By so doing, the government would have addressed the aspect of social justice as an essential ethical principle in healthcare.