The Impact of Health Insurance Type on Healthcare Inequality- A Critical Analysis

The Impact of Health Insurance Type on Healthcare Inequality- A Critical Analysis

The type of health insurance creates a system of unequal healthcare. For instance, consumers who have good health insurance and little out-of-pocket expenses show little motivation to be prudent in accessing resources of healthcare because payment for the services used comes primarily from the insurer (Marquis & Huston, 2020). The insurer is, therefore, forced to create incentives for the agents who will access the needed services only. This explains why some insurance programs meet the needs of many American citizens but do not cover expensive organ transplants (Marquis & Huston, 2020). Research has shown that people with health insurance in the U.S. have better access to healthcare services and better outcomes than those who lack insurance; however, this does not mean that all the people with health insurance get equal treatment.

Financially indigent Medicaid recipients often complain that numerous private healthcare providers refuse to accept them as their patients (Marquis & Huston, 2020). Patients that are enrolled in managed care claim that their treatment alternatives are more limited than the traditional private insurance due to the use of gatekeepers, queuing, and required authorizations. Marquis & Huston (2020) adds that even people with private insurance claim that out-of-pocket and co-payments costs for deductibles place the healthcare cost beyond the reach of many people.

Sohn (2017) finds that access to private health insurance coverage is tied to marriage and employment in the U.S. In both areas, minority groups are disadvantaged. This is because the unemployment rates are higher among the African American and Hispanic populations than their White counterparts (Sohn, 2017). According to Sohn (2017), the African American and Hispanic populations are less likely to marry than their White counterparts, and if they do, their tendency to divorce is higher than the whites.

In my nursing experience, many minorities have failed to seek healthcare services because their insurance covers limited healthcare services. Besides, insurance policies like Medicaid, which was meant to address the insurance loss in the U.S., failed to completely mitigate the insurance results of socioeconomic differences (Sohn, 2017). Even as ACA is focused on improving healthcare coverage, patients who once lost insurance may regain it, and even when they do, they need to seek new healthcare providers that can accept the new plan. Therefore, these inequalities are therefore race-based, socioeconomic-based, and policy-based

References

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2020). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Practice. Tenth Edition. New York: Lippincott/LWW

Sohn, H. (2017). Racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage: dynamics of gaining and losing coverage over the life-course. Population research and policy review, 36(2), 181-201.

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In this country, research suggests that those with health insurance have better access to healthcare services and better healthcare outcomes than those without. However, research suggests that not all individuals with health insurance receive equal treatment. Medicaid recipients, those enrolled in managed care plans, or those with lower-cost insurance plans continue to have limited choices to access needed health care due to private providers refusing to accept them as patients or high out-of-pocket copayments and deductibles. Does the type of health insurance an individual has to create a system of unequal healthcare? Discuss the inequalities and describe your personal experiences or what you have seen as a nurse.

Including two (2) references:

One reference from an English-titled, peer-reviewed nursing journal (less than five years old) and
One from the course textbook.
APA format required. See criteria and grading rubric for discussions prior to submission.
Additional peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and professional, governmental, or educational organizations websites (.org, .gov, or .edu) may be used as supplemental references for the initial post and the response.