ment would be less likely to get a
cancer screening or preventive care
“if they think they’re never going to
get out of this rut.”
Gingrich adds, bluntly, “If you
think you may die by 25, you probably have a limited interest in avoiding cancer later on in life.”
Another huge component in the
healthcare gap is access, which
often is determined by one’s insurance status. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) found that foreign-born
adults were two times more likely
than native-born Americans to be
uninsured. According to a study
published in the American Journal
of Public Health, one in five of
the nation’s uninsured was a noncitizen immigrant, the majority
of whom are Latino. But lack of
insurance is not just limited to
immigrants—more than 46 million
adults of all races and ethnicities in
the United States are uninsured,
with another 16 million underinsured (having inadequate insurance
to protect against catastrophic
healthcare expenses), which in total
comprises 21 percent of the U.S.
population, according to a study
paint a dismal picture of how vulnerable Americans deal with health
crises. The National Healthcare
Disparities Report (NHDR) found
that of the 12. 3 million patients
who went to health centers in
2003, 39 percent were uninsured,
vides insight into how seriously this
problem is considered by doctors.
When it comes to disparities in how
people are treated within the health-care system because of monetary
resources, only 42 percent said it
rarely makes a difference, while
150
Admissions per 100,000 people ages 18 and older
120
Latino
Asian/PI
Black
White
90
60
30
0
Less than $25,000– $35,000– $45,000 or
$25,000 income $34,999 income $44,999 income more income
NO TES: Asian/PI refers to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Latino includes Latinos of any race. Data is not
available for Native American populations. Source: 2003 National Healthcare Disparities Report, Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality
64 percent were people of color and
69 percent had incomes below
poverty level. The NHDR, a national comprehensive initiative to measure differences in access and use of
healthcare, found that patients of
another 10 percent said it never
makes a difference.
“Right now the healthcare system depends on
how much you can spend. Increasingly, the
people more likely to get the best care are
people with money.”
Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Harvard Medical School
published in Health Affairs. Again,
we see class play a role as 73 percent of the underinsured had annual incomes below the federal poverty level. Not only do the poor lack
access but they risk terminal illness,
as more than 59 percent of uninsured go without needed care.
Statistics about health centers
that serve lower-income patients
lower SES were “less likely to receive
recommended diabetic services …
more likely to die from HIV … less
likely to receive screening and treatment for cardiac risk factors … less
likely to receive childhood immunizations” and “have higher rates of
death from cancer.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s
National Survey of Physicians pro-
Impacting the
Bottom Line
Healthcare costs also have become a
bottom-line issue for employers and
companies of all revenue size and
industry. One needs only to open
up the latest edition of The Wall
Street Journal to see the impact of
healthcare costs on industries across
the country. In the past year alone,
the top three U.S. automakers
(General Motors, Ford and
DaimlerChrysler) have made significant cuts to their health benefits for
salaried workers and retirees in
response to the rising cost of health-care. General Motors (GM) lost
$10.6 billion in 2005, most of
which was accrued healthcare
expenses. In hopes of salvaging its
future, GM, which is one of the
largest single private healthcare
