¶ … financial impact vulnerable population. Consider: o the impact age groups, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic education level o Health illness trends, disease morbidity mortality population o Health care service, acute care, long-term care, nursing home, home health, hospice • Description funding assist population. Vulnerable populations

The terms vulnerable populations refers to the groups of people who are not properly integrated into the health care system as a result of their cultural, geographic, ethnic, health characteristics, or economic status. This group of people is usually isolated in terms of its members being at risk of not obtaining access to essential medical care. Therefore, this population is a potential threat to the health of the community because of their lack of access to medical care. Some examples of these vulnerable populations are the minority groups either ethnically or racially. There is also the urban and rural poor population. There are the undocumented immigrants and those people with disabilities as well as those who have multiple conditions that are chronic. These vulnerable populations are a huge threat to the overall health of the community and if the appropriate measure and health reforms are not taken, these vulnerable populations may continue to bring the health of the community down Shi & Stevens, 2010()

The reasons for the disparities in the health of the vulnerable populations are varied. A good example is that the racial and ethnic minorities may stand behind of the other groups as a result of the patterns of residential segregation separating the minorities from the health system. This could be as a result of cultural and language barriers that exist between the doctors and the patients or as a result of the differences in the patterns of employment that lead to the members of the vulnerable populations getting lower salaries. There is also a lower rate of insurance coverage by employers and also on an individual basis for these vulnerable populations Shi & Stevens, 2010()

The people who are disabled or have multiple conditions that are chronic usually find great difficulty in gaining access to proper insurance coverage as a result of the small employers not being able to add workers to their existing health care plans. This is because this will make them have to pay high medical costs and for them to find the right insurance plan for individuals who have pre-existing medical conditions, it is quite difficult Shi & Stevens, 2010()

Impact of changes in age groups, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic and education level

The vulnerable population is usually underinsured or uninsured. This results in the people foregoing preventive care in their health needs. Since they are underinsured or uninsured, they often cannot afford the huge medical bills and the cost of their care which is often paid by the insurer for the insured people. The change of impact of the vulnerable population over the past 30 years has been huge. In the year 1987, the percentage rate of those who were uninsured was about 14% of the population which represented an average of 30.5 million people. The more recent statistics of the year 2010 which were released on September 13th, 2011, show that 16.3% of the population is uninsured which represents about 50 million people. This shows that the number of uninsured people has grown significantly over the years. This impact change has been attributed to the economic recession, people losing their jobs as well as the continued increase of health care costs Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), 2011()

In 2010, the 18- to 24-year-olds were the only age group which experienced a significant increase in the percentage who are insured. This change was being compared to the result of the year 2009 which was 70.7% compared to 72.8% for 2010. This slight increase represents over 500,000 more members of this age group. For those children under the age of 18, the percentage of those without health insurance was stable at 9.8%. The rate of the uninsured had decreased greatly from 12.0% thirteen years ago in 1999. This was attributed to the substantial expansion...

Interestingly enough, the rate for the non-Hispanic whites was 11.78% which is significantly lower than that of the other races which represents a sort of racial discrimination in the insurance coverage Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), 2011()
Health care trends

Various studies conducted round the country have shown that there is greater morbidity and premature morality in the individuals. This is as a result of their diminishing quality of health care and the lack of availability of health care Miller, Vigdor, & Manning, 2004.

In a study on the uninsured in South Carolina, it was found that the number one reason for visits to the emergency department by the uninsured is back sprain. This is then followed by abdomen and pelvis symptoms and third comes respiratory conditions. Back disorders come in fourth and symptoms that involve the head and neck are fifth Shi & Stevens, 2010()

As a result of this vulnerable population not being able to seek preventative care, they often have to wait for then to get ill in order to seek treatment. These trends usually lead to a huge infection rate because of a reduction in the herd immunity threshold. Another study showed that many of the infections that affect the uninsured are usually preventable. The study also showed that the incidence of particular diseases and conditions such as skin infections had tripled over the period of 9 years. Other diseases whose rates have greatly increased include pneumonia, diabetes, mental health and substance abuse and cardiac conditions Shi & Stevens, 2010()

Health care service needs

The health care service needs of the vulnerable populations are often emergency room departments, extended stays in the hospital and long-term care units. The most important aspect of all these services is that they need to be partially or fully funded by the government and other health sector stakeholder in order for the vulnerable populations to be able to gain access to health care. These services have been determined to be the needs of this population as a result of the statistics on the medical conditions affecting them Shi & Stevens, 2010()

Statistically, the vulnerable populations are uninsured or uninsured and usually do not have the necessary means to afford preventive health care which makes them susceptible to minor illnesses. Therefore they will need to visit emergency rooms in order to get treatment. In the case where the disease has progressed to a chronic form, the patient will need to be hospitalized until they can be released from the facility Aday, 2001()

Funding options

Sources of funding for the state, federal and national health reforms are a widely discussed topic. In order to assist the vulnerable populations, the states have funding programs that attempt to assist the vulnerable populations gain access to some sort of medical care. A good example is the MediCal policy in the state of California which was introduced as a result of the state's health coverage shifting from private insured. The MediCal policy was a system of pooling resources in order to help those who are uninsured or underinsured to gain access to medical care through a program that is run by the state. The Kentucky Access program in the state of Kentucky is another example. It is another program by which resources are pooled for medical insurance coverage for those who have been denied access to health insurance. Though this program is not fully state funded, the policy holder only pays a small premium depending on their age. There is the Passport program in Kentucky for those who are unable to afford health care completely. This is a fully funded government program whereby certain doctors and health facilities are approved to see patients who are uninsured or underinsured as though they are fully insured.

How the vulnerable populations affect health care delivery in the U.S.

The impact of the vulnerable population on the health care delivery system in the U.S. is a multi-facet domain. This population causes a huge increase in the premiums payable for full health insurance. Since the members of this population are unable to pay these huge premiums, they often have to result in the U.S. health care system suffering from increased costs as a result of the economic recession, people losing jobs and many people choosing not to go with the employer-based plans due to the huge premiums. Therefore, unless a feasible health insurance program that is equal to all is visualized and implemented, the health care system of the U.S. will continue to suffer these effects.

Issues and challenges of the vulnerable population

The vulnerable population has one major issue which is the increasing overall cost of health insurance and stagnation of their working conditions as well as general economic conditions. Surveys show that those with salaries of lower than $40,000 per year usually stay out of…