Racial Disparities in US Healthcare Access: Addressing the Inequity

Racial Inequality in Access to Healthcare in the United States Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Racial Inequality in Access to Healthcare in the United States Introduction Racial inequality in healthcare is a complex multifactor issue that creates disparity in the quality of health services offered to the American people. African Americans are uninsured and underinsured at higher rates than any other racial group in the United States. The lack of coverage impacts on their access to quality health services and creates a social problem for the government and the people (Puaschunder & Beerbaum, 2020). The cost of healthcare is higher for the low-income individuals in the United States as they have to pay higher out-of-pocket charges for their healthcare. Additionally, the total contribution of their income is higher when considered as a percentage of their income. While an average American spends 11% of income on health insurance and out-of-pocket payments, the average for African Americans is 20% (Singh et al. 2017). This disparity indicates that blacks in the United States are spending more of their income on health than other Americans. The affordable care act (ACA) was established to end the disparity in healthcare in the United States by providing assistance to the poor households. The lack of health insurance is still a social problem affecting the African Americans more than people from other races and there is need to expand ACA programs to include more low-income individuals. History of Racial Inequality in Access to Healthcare Healthcare is a critical social welfare issue in the United States and the factor of race plays a key role in the debate. Each government is determined to provide quality health services to its people while focusing on the needs of the all the citizens (Singh et al., 2017). The historical issue of race in America has created disparities in the access to key services in the United States including healthcare. While the average income of the African American households has increased over the past decades, it is still below that of other ethnic communities. The demographic group is the most economically marginalized community in the United States having the highest rates of low-income households in any measure. As of the end of 2020, the poverty rates for African Americans was 21.2% compared to 17% among the Hispanic communities and 9% among white households in the country (Puaschunder & Beerbaum, 2020). The data demonstrates that African Americans are exposed to poverty more than any other race in the United States. The employment status of an individual and the members of a household plays a critical role in the access to healthcare insurance and quality care in general. The major sources of healthcare insurance are private, employer-sponsored, and public health services in the country. Employment rates, therefore, play a critical role in the access to healthcare in the country. People’s incomes determine their capacity to pay for private health insurance and their access to employer-sponsored healthcare cover. Additionally, the employment status of a community impacts on how families afford to pay for out-of-pocket services in hospitals. As of 2020, the unemployment rate for African Americans aged 16 years and above was 6.6% while that of the Hispanic communities was 5.4%. Among the Asian Americans, the unemployment rate was 3.3% while the rate among the whites was 3.6% (Singh et al. 2017). There has been an increase in the access to employment for the African Americans since the era of the Civil Rights Movements in the 1960s. However, the blacks compose of the most unemployment demographic group in the country and this issue has significant implications on their access to health insurance. Inequality in the access to healthcare is a social welfare issue since the African Americans continue to pay more out-of-pocket payments for health services than other groups. This trend has significant implications on the capacity of the African American families to meet other basic needs including housing and food. On average, An American family spends a total of 11% of their annual income for health