Accessibility In Healthcare

Access to quality healthcare in the United States has been an ongoing issue for both healthy and unhealthy people for many years. However, since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law and implemented, this issue has gained more notoriety due to the tremendous influx of patients with healthcare coverage who previously had no health insurance coverage. Many of these individuals were from a low income socioeconomic group, so they were quite uneducated about how to even navigate their own healthcare. This influx of additional people created even more of a burden upon healthcare providers and facilities to offer more accessibility. Many Americans continue to go without adequate healthcare to this day even if they have been able to obtain …show more content…
Quality of life for those who lack adequate healthcare due to barriers in accessibility can be greatly reduced, and in some cases even life ending. According to Shi and Singh (2015), “accessibility refers to the ease with which a patient can initiate an interaction with a clinician for any health problem” (p. 255). The ability to seek and obtain quality healthcare from a primary care provider is key for leading a healthy lifestyle. Primary care providers offer well-rounded healthcare along with well-coordinated healthcare with specialists whenever needed. Primary care providers also offer preventative healthcare which enables them to prevent certain illnesses or detect them in an early stage which results in a better outcome. However, with a variety of barriers still in existence, access to quality healthcare continues to be a major problem in the United States. A few of these barriers are accessibility of healthcare services, costs associated with healthcare, and being uninsured or …show more content…
Many will not obtain necessary healthcare if they have co-payments that must be paid for visits or have high deductibles that must be met first before insurance coverage comes into effect. They may also not obtain needed prescriptions due to lack of money. By not obtaining necessary healthcare or taking prescribed medications, these individuals could end up in an emergency room or be hospitalized resulting in even more costs. Carrillo, Carrillo, Perez, Salas-Lopez, Natale-Pereira, and Byron (2011) “Research has demonstrated that the impact of being uninsured and underinsured disproportionately affects Latinos and African Americans by limiting access to doctors when ill, going without a prescription for needed medications, or foregoing recommended tests or treatments” (p. 564). Due to the costs associated with healthcare and the financial situations of many Americans access to healthcare is greatly