Analysis of the United States Healthcare System and the Challenges Faced by Citizens of Lower Socioeconomic Status

Although we like to think all citizens have equal access to healthcare in the United States, this is far from reality.  This decades long problem is exacerbated by the ignorance of the middle and upper class when it comes to this issue, as they see healthcare as a privilege and not a right.  In order to eliminate this problem, everyone must get informed about the obstacles faced by a subset of the population when it comes to accessing healthcare. This includes learning about the history of health inequality in the United States, the policies set in place to help this problem, and the additional factors that add to an individual’s diminished health other than their financial status, such as race, education level, living conditions, and stress.  Informing the whole population about this topic is the first step to reforming the injustice in the US healthcare system.  However, learning about specific testimonies made by individuals of lower socioeconomic status regarding the additional obstacles they must hurdle to access healthcare will allow everyone to form a deeper understanding and empathy for these people so that everyone can contribute to the much needed transformation of policy and aid in bridging the gap of inequality in United States medicine.