Healthcare Why Access to Healthcare Has Become

Healthcare

Why access to healthcare has become an issue in the U.S.

According to a 2010 Gallup Poll, Americans named access to services the "top issue" in health care ("Americans Name Healthcare Access Top U.S. Health Issue," 2010). Empirical research also reveals that access is the top problem in the American health care system at the moment, as "tens of millions of adults under age 65 -- both those with insurance and those without -- saw their access to health care worsen dramatically over the past decade," (Galewitz, 2012). The reasons for the problems related to access stem from social justice and cost barriers (Galewitz, 2012). Health care is simply too expensive for most Americans. As a result, many are delaying seeking treatment. The situation is as true for the insured as the uninsured, showing that health care access is a systemic problem (Young, 2012, p. 1). The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was designed to reduce or mitigate the problems associated with access to services, enabling a greater number of Americans to afford the medical care they need. The Act is successful in that it extends insurance coverage to millions of Americans who did not before have it, but the Act does not solve all the problems related to access to care. Therefore, access to health care has become, and still remains, a core concern for Americans.

How often is it encountered?

According to one study, about a fifth of all Americans admit to having "unmet medical needs," (Galewitz, 2012). There are an increasing number of Americans that are going without health care expressly because of cost. Young (2012) states that almost 20% of Americans "hadn't seen a doctor within a year, and more than 60% hadn't seen a dentist." Among the uninsured, the problem is far worse. "Forty-eight percent of the uninsured had seen a doctor within a year, a decrease from 54.5% 10 years earlier," (Young, 2012). Thus, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 does at least try to reduce the severity of the problem, even if it cannot get to the root cause of the problem.

What are its negative consequences?

The negative consequences of impeded access to health care services include higher eventual cost of health care, as many Americans are not seeking treatment at the early stages of a problem or disease. Moreover, the issue is a public health concern that is also linked to quality of life. There are also ethical parameters to the health care debate, as health care can and should be framed as a human right.

Who is affected by the problem?

The problem affects the poor and uninsured in greater proportion to the rest of Americans, but access to health care is also a problem for those with insurance coverage. As Young (2012) points out, insurance premiums have gone up in cost, and employee health care benefits have become "meager," (p. 1).

What could be its implications for the mission and vision of the healthcare organization where the problem occurs?