Problematic Issues in America: Poverty and Health

In the United States it has been shown that areas of lower economic status don’t have the best physical and mental health care. On top of already struggling to make ends meet, people are being forced to ignore illnesses, they are unable to take prescribed medications, and are not even seeing the doctor all because of the cost. Poverty prevents Americans from buying healthy food, they have a higher tendency to smoke, and generally live in areas of poor air quality which can cause health impairments such as asthma, and COPD. Some argue that poverty affects you even before you are born. It has been stated that when someone is born into poverty, that while they were in the womb it is very likely they were exposed to secondhand smoke, were malnourished, and premature. 4% of all children have no usual healthcare, but that percentage jumps to 6% in areas of lower economic health. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, ACA, or Obamacare, is a law that passed in 2010 that established better health coverage for those that are of low economic status.Poverty and Quality of Healthcare

In the United States it has been shown that areas of lower economic status don’t have the best physical and mental health care. On top of already struggling to make ends meet, people are being forced to ignore illnesses, they are unable to take prescribed medications, and are not even seeing the doctor all because of the cost. Poverty prevents Americans from buying healthy food, they have a higher tendency to smoke, and generally live in areas of poor air quality which can cause health impairments such as asthma, and COPD. Some argue that poverty affects you even before you are born. It has been stated that when someone is born into poverty, that while they were in the womb it is very likely they were exposed to secondhand smoke, were malnourished, and premature. 4% of all children have no usual healthcare, but that percentage jumps to 6% in areas of lower economic health. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, ACA, or Obamacare, is a law that passed in 2010 that established better health coverage for those that are of low economic status. There was a lot of debate in regards to the ACA. Ultimately it passed and it cut the amount of uninsured people almost in half.

People of impoverished areas tend to have poor health quality, but more so than that, they

tend to have a lower quality of healthcare. Poverty can be seen everywhere. Healthcare for the impoverished can vary, depending on the type of poverty a person is forced to live with. There is “absolute” poverty and “relative” poverty. The idea of Absolute Poverty came to life over one hundred years ago and is defined as an “absolute minimum standard of living.” It is based on the idea that everyone is born with what they need to be healthy. The Believers of the relative poverty theory argue that a definition must relate to the standards of a particular society at a certain time. It is believed that people of relative poverty do not have the basic needs to live and continue to have a healthy life. “Insurance is not just supposed to get you access to care, it’s supposed to keep you from getting evicted from your apartment because you paid your hospital bill instead of your rent.” (“The Costs of Inequality”) All of this will affect the quality of healthcare a person receives.

The ability to have access to healthcare is something nobody should have to worry about, but is a reality for a lot of Americans. There is a large amount of Americans who do not have health insurance. This lack of coverage can make it hard for people to access the care they need. If they choose to go to the doctor, they can be burdened by medical bills that frankly, they cannot afford. Someone without health insurance is “more likely to have poor health, and less likely to receive medical care.”(“Access to Health Services”)

Impoverished areas have more cases of mental health than wealthy areas. Stress caused by a lack of economic wealth can cause depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. The cost of psychiatric medications can also cause someone to be impoverished, so there is the problem that these people simply cannot afford to seek help for their mental health. Typically when dealing with these issues, one must seek professional help through a psychiatrist and a psychologist. However, due to the expenses related to both of these physicians it may be difficult or impossible for one to access these services so that they can live a normal life.

Some argue that poverty affects you even before you are born due to poor air quality of the mothers environment, drug tendencies, and generally bad healthcare due to the lack of care available to those in impoverished areas. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, ACA, or Obamacare, is a law that passed in 2010 that established better health coverage for those that are of low economic status. This act has helped millions of people and is arguably one of the biggest leaps we have made in regards to healthcare.

Throughout their lifetime, people of low economic status tend to have worse overall health. As a country, we need to bind together and help one another, even if it comes out of our own pocket. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

Poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, overuse of alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity and inadequate relief of chronic stress are key culprits in the development of preventable diseases. Some of these diseases include: obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and even several types of cancer. However, even knowing these things, people of poor economic status tend to indulge in drugs and alcohol more often than those of middle or upper class. On top of that, they do not have the funds or resources for a rehabilitation center or even a simple doctor appointment to address the issue.

Almost half of the young children in the United States live in or near poverty. Poverty and other related social determinants of health can lead to adverse health outcomes in childhood and negatively affect their physical, emotional, and educational development throughout their life, starting in the womb. Poverty affects many aspects of a child’s life such as: low birth weight, infant mortality, language development, chronic illness, environmental exposure, nutrition, and injury. (“Pediatrics, Council On Community. “Poverty and Child Health in the United States.”)

Child poverty also exposes the brain to a condition called “toxic stress.” This illness causes “excessive or prolonged activation of the physiologic stress response systems in the absence of protection by stable, responsive relationships.” Children from impoverished families tend to be at risk for inattention, impulsivity, defiance, and poor peer relationships.(“Pediatrics, Council On Community. “Poverty and Child Health in the United States.”) Unfortunately, due to the fact that they were born into this lifestyle, it is almost impossible for these things to be avoided because healthcare is not easily accessible for people of low economic status. This is where the Affordable Care Act came into play.

The high cost of health coverage has traditionally kept as many as 48 million Americans without health insurance. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare is a federal law that was intended to make health insurance that was more affordable and accessible to more people. It also wanted to expand the Medicaid program to cover adults with an income below 138% of the federal poverty level. ACA was enacted in two parts: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010 and was amended on March 30, 2010.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/patient_protection_and_affordable_care_act) This law has extended health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, but the effects of coverage on access to care remain unclear.

Generally, low economic standards lead to poor health. This has been shown time and time again throughout vigorous research. Whether that means poor physical or mental health depends on the person at hand, but the point remains the same. If someone cannot afford food, clothing, or shelter, they cannot afford healthcare. I strongly believe healthcare should be set at a standard that makes it possible for everyone to receive it. Although it is arguable, I believe that the ACA is a great start to making everyone equal in terms of healthcare. There was a lot of debate in regards to the ACA. Ultimately it passed and it cut the amount of uninsured people almost in half.

People of impoverished areas tend to have poor health quality, but more so than that, they

tend to have a lower quality of healthcare. Poverty can be seen everywhere. Healthcare for the impoverished can vary, depending on the type of poverty a person is forced to live with. There is “absolute” poverty and “relative” poverty. The idea of Absolute Poverty came to life over one hundred years ago and is defined as an “absolute minimum standard of living.” It is based on the idea that everyone is born with what they need to be healthy. The Believers of the relative poverty theory argue that a definition must relate to the standards of a particular society at a certain time. It is believed that people of relative poverty do not have the basic needs to live and continue to have a healthy life. “Insurance is not just supposed to get you access to care, it’s supposed to keep you from getting evicted from your apartment because you paid your hospital bill instead of your rent.” (“The Costs of Inequality”) All of this will affect the quality of healthcare a person receives.

The ability to have access to healthcare is something nobody should have to worry about, but is a reality for a lot of Americans. There is a large amount of Americans who do not have health insurance. This lack of coverage can make it hard for people to access the care they need. If they choose to go to the doctor, they can be burdened by medical bills that frankly, they cannot afford. Someone without health insurance is “more likely to have poor health, and less likely to receive medical care.”(“Access to Health Services”)

Impoverished areas have more cases of mental health than wealthy areas. Stress caused by a lack of economic wealth can cause depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. The cost of psychiatric medications can also cause someone to be impoverished, so there is the problem that these people simply cannot afford to seek help for their mental health. Typically when dealing with these issues, one must seek professional help through a psychiatrist and a psychologist. However, due to the expenses related to both of these physicians it may be difficult or impossible for one to access these services so that they can live a normal life.

Some argue that poverty affects you even before you are born due to poor air quality of the mothers environment, drug tendencies, and generally bad healthcare due to the lack of care available to those in impoverished areas. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, ACA, or Obamacare, is a law that passed in 2010 that established better health coverage for people of low economic status. This act has helped millions of people and is arguably one of the biggest leaps we have made in regards to healthcare.

Throughout their lifetime, people of low economic status tend to have worse overall health. As a country, we need to bind together and help one another, even if it comes out of our own pocket. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

Poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, overuse of alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity and inadequate relief of chronic stress are key culprits in the development of preventable diseases. Some of these diseases include: obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and even several types of cancer. However, even knowing these things, people of poor economic status tend to indulge in drugs and alcohol more often than those of middle or upper class. On top of that, they do not have the funds or resources for a rehabilitation center or even a simple doctor appointment to address the issue.

Almost half of the young children in the United States live in or near poverty. Poverty and other related social determinants of health can lead to adverse health outcomes in childhood and negatively affect their physical, emotional, and educational development throughout their life, starting in the womb. Poverty affects many aspects of a child’s life such as: low birth weight, infant mortality, language development, chronic illness, environmental exposure, nutrition, and injury. (“Pediatrics, Council On Community. “Poverty and Child Health in the United States.”)

Child poverty also exposes the brain to a condition called “toxic stress.” This illness causes “excessive or prolonged activation of the physiologic stress response systems in the absence of protection by stable, responsive relationships.” Children from impoverished families tend to be at risk for inattention, impulsivity, defiance, and poor peer relationships.(“Pediatrics, Council On Community. “Poverty and Child Health in the United States.”) Unfortunately, due to the fact that they were born into this lifestyle, it is almost impossible for these things to be avoided because healthcare is not easily accessible for people of low economic status. This is where the Affordable Care Act came into play.

The high cost of health coverage has traditionally kept as many as 48 million Americans without health insurance. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare is a federal law that was intended to make health insurance that was more affordable and accessible to more people. It also wanted to expand the Medicaid program to cover adults with an income below 138% of the federal poverty level. ACA was enacted in two parts: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010 and was amended on March 30, 2010.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/patient_protection_and_affordable_care_act) This law has extended health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, but the effects of coverage on access to care remain unclear.

Generally, low economic standards lead to poor health. This has been shown time and time again throughout vigorous research. Whether that means poor physical or mental health depends on the person at hand, but the point remains the same. If someone cannot afford food, clothing, or shelter, they cannot afford healthcare. I strongly believe healthcare should be set at a standard that makes it possible for everyone to receive it. Although it is arguable, I believe that the ACA is a great start to making everyone equal in terms of healthcare.

Works Cited

1. Baicker, K., & Taubman, S. L. (2013). The effect of Medicaid on labor market activity and program participation: Evidence from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment. Journal of Public Economics, 99, 1-19.
2. Braveman, P. A., Egerter, S. A., & Mockenhaupt, R. E. (2011). Broadening the focus: The need to address the social determinants of health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(1 Suppl 1), S4-S18.
3. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2021). Policy basics: Introduction to Medicaid. Retrieved from https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/policy-basics-introduction-to-medicaid
4. DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2021). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-275.
5. Fiscella, K., & Williams, D. R. (2004). Health disparities based on socioeconomic inequities: Implications for urban health care. Academic Medicine, 79(12), 1139-1147.
6. HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). What is the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? Retrieved from https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/
7. Lantz, P. M., Golberstein, E., House, J. S., & Morenoff, J. (2010). Socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors for mortality in a national 19-year prospective study of U.S. adults. Social Science & Medicine, 70(10), 1558-1566.
8. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Communities in action: Pathways to health equity. National Academies Press.
9. National Center for Health Statistics. (2020). Health, United States, 2019: With special feature on mortality. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19.pdf
10. Shonkoff, J. P., Boyce, W. T., & McEwen, B. S. (2009). Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: Building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention. JAMA, 301(21), 2252-2259.