African Americans and Healthcare :: Papers Health Insurance Medical Essays

African Americans and Health safekeepingAfrican Americans face a multidimensional wellness care crisis that affects the young or old, rich or poor. Too many African Americans are uninsured or underinsured. The elderly cannot afford long health care leaving the family to care for them. Health care live is continuously rising and are out of control, reform is the only way out. The maturation number of uninsured and underinsured is on the rise. In 1979, 11 million African americans were uninsured (Jaffe 10). Today, the number is 15 million and it is increasing every(prenominal)(prenominal) socio-economic class (Jaffe 11). According to the Department of Health and Human Services, thirteen million blacks in America have health care and fourteen million do not (Fitzgerald 31). Also, those who are insured today may be at risk tomorrow if their employer drops coverage, or the head of the household changes or loses their job. roughly blacks in the United States who ar e uninsured simply cannot receive health care at an affordable price because their employer does not offer it and self-insurance cost much more. The lack of adequate insurance can be crushing to families both in financial terms and in terms of seasonably access to needed health care (Jaffe 12). Altogether, collection agencies report every year that most blacks are in debt due to unpaid health check bills, because they are not insured or they are underinsured.African American senior citizens face a health care crisis too. They have worked all of their lives to secure retirement, but their retirement has been threatened because of the rising cost of long-term medical care. Insurance companies have failed to provide affordable long-term care, safeguard that most senior citizens need. This lack of long term care and affordability has been a serious problem for the health care system. In some cities, the deficit of hospital beds is so serious that it is common for patient s to stay in emergency brake rooms before they can be admitted to an inpatient room (Drake 109). to a greater extent than one thousand hospital beds are occupied by the great unwashed who could be better care for in nursing homes or with home health care (Drake 110). Of the disabled elderly 1.3 million live in nursing homes (Drake 10). These patients are unable to perform two or more of the basic activities of daily living without assistance.