Access to Primary and Maternity Care Services
In the New York area there are consumers who have either no insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or some type of commercial insurance. Race, income, and age
play major roles in determining what, if any, insurance a person will have. For your paper you must discover how a patient’s financial class (primary insurance
status) will affect their access to both hospital-based and non-hospital-based health care services. For example, for primary and maternity care, you will be
exploring hospital-based for delivery and non-hospital-based for primary and pre-natal care.
Core research questions:
1) Does insurance status play an essential role in accessing services and thereby contribute to health disparities?
2) Should all providers be required to see patients regardless of ability to pay?
3) If so, what financial problems would that requirement create?
4) Is there sufficient funding for institutions that provide care regardless of ability to pay?
After gathering data, please write a paper of between 2,000- and 2,500-words excluding title page, charts, tables, and references. The paper should answer all
the questions referred to in the “core research question” section. You should answer the questions in a narrative flow that clearly signals the question being
answered without using a “Q&A” format.
Sample Solution
Insurance status is a major factor in determining access to health care services; research has shown that those with lower incomes and/or minority backgrounds are more likely to be uninsured or rely on public health programs such as Medicaid or Medicare. This means they face greater difficulties when it comes to receiving the necessary medical care, resulting in an increased risk of health disparities (Gillum et al., 2003).
One example of this can be seen in hospital-based maternity care; due to the rising cost of labor and delivery, uninsured patients tend to delay seeking out prenatal care which increases their chances of complications during childbirth (Klassen et al., 2005). Additionally, those with commercial insurance may have better access to resources such as specialized obstetricians compared to those without any coverage at all (Hargraves &Davidson, 2002 ).
Conversely, non-hospital based services for primary and pre natal care such as community clinics have been beneficial for providing low cost services regardless of ability to pay . However, there is still room for improvement as these facilities often lack sufficient staff members and funding from both government incentives and private donations meaning underprivileged communities are less likely receive adequate support compared individuals in more affluent areas( Steinhauer & Ottman ,2006) .
Ultimately then, a patient’s financial class does indeed impact their access healthcare services leading to disparities between different groups within society. It could therefore be argued that all providers should be obligated by law –via Medicare For All – to provide treatment free of charge regardless of insurance status so everyone has equal opportunities for quality medical attention. (Coverdell et al. 2011)
