Healthcare | An Open Access Journal

Running head: HEALTHCARE
Healthcare
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

HEALTHCARE1
Accessibility in healthcare refers to the availability of high quality healthcare services
within reasonable reach of the healthcare service users. In USA health insurance coverage is
provided by several public as well as private organizations. During the year 2016, the US
population was approximately 325 million with 53 million people over 65 years age or more
covered by the Medicare program. However, in the year 2017, a survey has been conducted by
who I order to access the healthcare he healthcare system of 11 countries (Woolf, 2017). From
the survey, it has been found that u`s health care system is one of the worst performing on the
basis of efficiency, affordability, equity and healthcare access. In the year 2018, the nation I
found to be ranked 29th on the basis of healthcare access and quality (Snavely, 2016). In this
essay, a detailed cause effect discussion on the factors influencing accessibility and affordability
of health care in the US has been conducted.
According to Meltzer and Schwartz, (2016), lack of workforce can be pointed out to be
one of the major causes behind lack of accessibility and affordability of the US healthcare
system. Considering the fact that the population of the nation is aging, the healthcare industry in
UK is suffering from a huge crisis of workforce. The number of general practitioners per
population is much lesser in the nation compared to other developed nations like France and
Sweden. In the year 2013, America possessed half as many primary health care service provider
per 1000 individuals compared to its neighbor country Sweden and one fifth the number in
France or Germany. According to Burstin, Leatherman and Goldmann, (2016), lack of workforce
in the US healthcare department creates issue in the demand and supply. Lack of primary care
physicians makes it difficult for a greater number of patent to access the same.
When it comes to the chief cause that is affecting lack of affordability of the US
healthcare system, lack of funding can be pointed out. Considering the fact that it is the

HEALTHCARE2
responsibility of both the federal as well as local government to ensure import of efficient
workface for enhancing the manpower of the industry, lack of effective funding is hindering the
process. Not only this, healthcare equipment that needs to be installed in order to provide high
quality HealthCare to the health care service users of the nation are lacking due to lack of
effective funding.
The third chief factors that is affecting the provision of accessible as well as affordable
healthcare system is discrimination. According to Xu and Xue, (2016), perceived discrimination
in the medial setting of the UK healthcare system has remained prevalent. Discriminatory acts on
healthcare service providers from ethnic background are often practiced which makes it difficult
for the same to retain their jobs. For instance, the stress level ad pressure imposed on no white
healthcare service users are found to be much more compared to while service users. Not only
this, nurses with ethnic backgrounds are found to be suffer from issues like lack of promotion,
ragging by white nurses and others. All these have resulted in deterioration of the number of
nurses from ethnic or non-American background. This in turn is imposing negative impact on the
workforce.
Singh et al., (2017) have pointed out that lack of effective act and polices can be
considered as one of the chief factors that is imposing adverse impact on the affordability and
accessibility of the healthcare service. The patient protection and affordability care act, also
known as affordability care act was signed in law in the year 2010. The ACA was formally
designed for paying for its subsidies by taxing some health care providers and high-income
families. However, the act has been modified by the former president of USA and the new act
has been designed for both lower heath care costs as well as provided better health care for
American society as a whole. The chief purpose of the mentioned healthcare act was to ensure