Haddad 1
Danny Haddad
Professor H. Culik
ENGL-1190-C1622
4, April 2017
Redlining: Health privileges
Redlining in health treatment and hospitals is shown by the amount of privileges and treatment a patient has depending on who the patient is in society. Health privileges has changed the way someone has been taken care of and spoken to in a hospital. There is a limit to how much insurance can pay for a patient till they must pay from their pocket. When a patient enters an emergency room or doctor’s office they are treated by the amount of income that they make or the type of nationality they are. This gives the question, is everyone given the same privileges and treatment? Even though hospitals take all kinds of insurance there is a limit to how much they could give.
Many people in society are not given the right treatment they deserve while others receive great treatment because they are in a higher position at a job or have a greater social class then the lower class. In the Article called “Promoting Health Equity and Optimal Health for All”, Paul Jarris states, “It is just as important for public health leaders to address other issues, including discriminatory public policies in areas such as income, housing, and transportation and societal concerns such as racism and privilege” (85JPHMP). Many hospitals are staying quiet about how certain authorities get better health treatment then society in general. Health care and treatment in hospitals are decided through where a person lives, how much they make, and who they are in society and not by how hurt or damaged they are. When a person has a low income, they are not able to pay off hospital bills and medical care as easy as the upper class. Many people attend medical care not just in hospitals but in dental offices and for eyecare. This shows that there is a lot of money to pay off when attending these medical places yearly. Even if a patient has good insurance, there is a certain limit they pay then the rest must be from the patient.
low income homes and the homeless are not able to gain health benefits when living in poor urban areas. Elizabeth Eisenhauer says, “Changes in food availability are a key element in the changing social conditions of the urban poor and, as good nutrition is critical for good health, a contributing factor in the decline of urban health” (Eisenhauer). This shows that people are also not gaining the right vitamins and nutrition that even keep their immune system healthy. The Geo journal is trying to address the quality in food that is reaching urban in supermarkets and distressed communities. This also shows the different areas such as low income homes and urban areas and how they are not given the proper care as the wealthy and upper class is given.
The article Quality of Primary Health explains why discrimination creates a risk in preterm birth and the many factors that lead to it. The Home discloser act showed the data from the years 1999 to 2004 that shows measures of redlining and segregation in residential areas. This shows the risk in preterm birth and how it’s increasing to people that are older and that have higher levels of experiences of everyday discrimination, and that lived in redlined areas. Dara D. Mendez says, “Residential redlining is a form institutional racism and neighborhood characteristic may be important for understanding racial/ethnic disparities in pregnancy and preterm birth” (Mendez) This shows the depression rate of women who experience racial experiences that divide them from the normal nonracial world and how it effects their health in giving birth.
Nations have discussed a health care bill that will create many Americans to lose their health care right in the U.S. This act will allow companies to charge many Americans on their age. This creates redlining that effects people on their age and how much they make. This also gives companies the ability to charge elderly more because they are sicker and older. This shows how redlining affects the elderly that make less but spend more. This also shows how redlining can affect the elderly and their health when the government sends a health care bill. Many citizens that retire spend most of there income on health reasons and not on what they want to spend it on.
I believe that hospitals have a redline that divides the upper class from the lower class even if they may take all kids of insurance. For example, a relative of mine was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer that was in stage 4. He lived in a low-income family that did not get as much benefit and treatment as someone that could afford to pay the hospital bills as an upper-class citizen. The hospital told him that he would not be able to get a lung transplant that could possibly save his life because they could not waste a lung on a patient that has cancer or that has a low percentage to live. A week later after given the news that he could not be given a lung he passed away. As shown on Newsday there are many celebrities that have been diagnosed with cancer and have been cured such as Ben Stiller, Hugh Jackman, and more.These celebrities are wealthier than the average citizen in the U.S. and can afford cancer treatment. Another example that was placed in my life is when my own mom was burned across her body and face with 3rd degree burns. She was treated at the University of Michigan hospital. The hospital could take insurance to a certain extent. The insurance said that further surgeries would be used for cosmetology and not for curing her face. Till this day she has a scar across her face and body. Many celebrities and the upper class today have done surgeries to their body even though they are perfectly fine the way they look. This shows how the upper class have greater benefits and privileges than the lower classes and where redlining in hospitals is placed.
People must see how to change redlining in in society or else many people will be left in financial risks and not have the same privileges as the upper class. This shows that without a change in society there could be corruption and discrimination that no one could see. Hospitals and health offices must give everyone the same privileges and treatment or else redlining will be shown in society and not changed to the better good. This could be a serious issue not just because of the loss of income but, also because millions of people’s lives in the U.S. could be at risk. How can leaders save lives if redlining is not physically shown to the world?
Work Cited
Jarris, Paul, Yolanda Savage-Narva, and Monica Valdes Lupi. "Promoting Health Equity and Optimal Health for All." (2016): S5-S7. Web. 20 April. 2017.file:///C:/Users/danny/Downloads/Promoting_Health_Equity_and_Optimal_Health_for_All.2.pdf
Eisenhauer, Elizabeth. "In poor health: Supermarket redlining and urban nutrition." GeoJournal53.2 (2001): 125-133. Web. 20 April. 2017. 015772503007
Reerink, Ietje H., and Rainer Sauerborn. "Quality of primary health care in developing countries: recent experiences and future directions." International Journal for Quality in Health Care 8.2 (1996): 131-139. Web. 20 April. 2017. 1/1832376/Quality-of-Primary-Health-Care-in-Developing
Christensen, Jen. "Older people would pay more under new health care bill, AARP says." CNN. 9 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 April. 2017
Staff, Newsday. "Celebrities who've had cancer." Newsday. N.p., 06 Apr. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.