“Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is important for the achievement of health equity and for increasing the quality of a healthy life for everyone” (Access to Health Services). Equity of healthcare access is in the eye of the beholder to me means that if you want access to healthcare then you have to make it possible to have insurance or enough money to pay for quality health care.
Healthcare is only affordable if insured or ability to pay but children and elderly individuals may be eligible for Medicaid but what about everyone else who doesn’t meet the criteria to receive free health care? “In the United States Medicaid is a government sponsored program to help
poor people pay for healthcare but Medicaid is poorly funded and not all healthcare providers are willing to accept its low rate of reimbursement for services” (Healthcare Access, 2011).
In most cases healthcare is not offered free so you have to work at a company that offers an insurance plan or have access to plenty of money to afford to get the appropriate care. Everyone has a different mindset so if you want quality healthcare then you will do whatever is necessary to try and make that possible but if it isn’t a concern then access to healthcare isn’t very important. If you come from a low income household or don’t have insurance then healthcare will probably be the last on the list of priorities.
In my opinion the U.S. Healthcare system isn’t that equitable because healthcare should be afforded to everyone or affordable for everyone to have access to it. Although access to healthcare is available, the cost is usually the reason most people neglect their health. I think if more people had access to affordable healthcare then they would take advantage of it and seek the appropriate medical attention when necessary in order to live a long, healthy life.
References
Access to Health Services-Healthy People. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2012 from www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx...
Healthcare Access- The Center for Health Ethics University of Missouri (2011, June 8). Retrieved May 2, 2012 from http://www.ethics.missouri.edu/Healthcare-Access.aspx