Racial Disparity In Health Care Essay

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Racial Disparities in Health Insurance Including its Accessibility, Usage and Financial Impact In a world that has made great strides in social equalities, racial disparities in the health care industry are still a prevalent matter. This is especially true when it comes to access and utilization of health insurance. Inequalities can be seen throughout the health care system and have a major impact on our country’s (both current and future) health and well-being. Racial disparities are a matter of critical importance as the racial and ethnic minority group population of the United States will increase to nearly 40% by 2030 (Copeland, 2005).
Literature and Data Review A driving force behind such inequalities in the simple notion of one having access to health insurance. Moonesinghe, Chang and Truman (2013) noted the unemployment rate from 2008 to 2009 had risen from 5.8% to 9.3%. Many people do not have access to health care while unemployed. Losing or changing jobs also are a driving factor behind gaps in health care coverage (Moonesinghe, et al., 2013). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports in their National
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In recent years, there have been attempts to increase the availability of health care to all ethnic, socio-economical and educational backgrounds. The biggest change we have seen is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 (Derose, Gresenz & Ringel, 2011). However, not all of the onus can fall on the ACA. There must also be a greater emphasis for providers to be able to communicate with populations of limited English proficiency (Derose, et al., 2011). This could help ease the fears of those who may be hesitant to engage in health care services or attempt to obtain health insurance due to English being their second language. Again, these will not serve as the ultimate solutions for breaking down racial disparity factors of health insurance utilization, but could likely help lead us in the right

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