For many Americans, poverty and lack of health insurance make it difficult to get necessary health and medical care. According to a new study, once they do visit the doctor, poor, uninsured people often report racial discrimination when communicating with health care professionals.
Tags: Health, Poverty Analysis
Health Insurance issues are often emphasized in 2008 presidential campaign. Each candidate presents individual program of healing the system, reforming it or building quite new insurance programs. For years nobody was interested in doing anything with the existing system, for children, elderlies, veterans, immigrants. The social security system started in New Deal era lives over 70 years almost untouched.
When talking about marginalization or discrimination because of lack of insurance. Describing maltreatment of patients we cannot forget what is the primary issue. As far as I know, I am not US resident, almost 1/3 of American population is having no health insurance program at all. Over 1/4 of children under 18 are not registered to healthcare programs despite these children have medical care without paying for it. This is also discrimination. In the democratic society so many people are discriminized and left behind any care, the care which the country in one way or another guarantees to its people. Of course discrimination, maltreatment, inadequate attention, harsh instructions are met not only among those uninsured. Most of them do not know what are their rights. Many do not understand what they can and what they cannot expect from medical system and insurance (if they have one). What about illegal immigrants? They have driving license, bank account, but they do not social security number (the legal one), and they do not have health insurance. And someone has to help them when they are in need. This report explains situation when patients go to have advice or treatment from their doctor. In summer or in spring, as I remember one TV network have aired a series of programs about life in some of American ERs. There was a short debate later on either the present ER system works good or provides bad care. Too many patients, too many uninsured, too short personnel, too much expenses for hospitals and communities. The result is the same: maltreatment, discrimination, sometimes abuse, wrong diagnose or refusal of care.
There is one solution. The whole health care system must be organized as new one. No modernization, no reforms to existing structures. A completely new program must be built. And this is where we should appear, to express the needs of poor, abandoned, adolescent and impair people ho are to weak to fight for their rights. Because all people are created equal, but because of the original sin some people think, they are created more equal…
Lack of health insurance, or insufficient insurance plan leads someone to discrimination in health care and treatment procedures. The recent study presents how the lack of insurance, a sign of poverty as for many people insurance is too expensive, effects in increase of cancer diagnosis and cancer death. For more read the story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/12/20/cancer.uninsured.ap/index.html
There are people with risked health, who will rarely visit a doctor if their blood pressure is to o high for instance. Read, how some organizations and charities try to deliver the first aid to poor, uninsured:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/12/25/hunger.healing.ap/index.html