Proposed Equity of Care Act

Equity of Care Act

Ethnic and racial minorities are among the most vulnerable populations because of their likelihood to be poor and have lower academic levels. Their status makes them increasingly susceptible to ill health as compared to the rich, non-minority, and better education populations. As a result of their vulnerability, ethnic and racial minorities have experienced disparities in access to quality health care that contributes to better health and well-being. In addition to facing obstacles in accessing health care services, these minorities receive poor quality care when they access the services. The current mode of health care delivery does not ensure equitable access to and provision of quality care to ethnic and racial minorities (Shi & Stevens, 2005, p.148). Some of the prevalent challenges for ethnic and racial minorities in accessing quality care include lack of health insurance and financial resources, structural barriers, irregular sources of care, and lack of care providers.

Proposed Equity of Care Bill

As evident in the previous analysis, there are increased disparities in health care access and provision, which significantly affect ethnic and racial minorities by contributing to difficulties in accessing and obtaining quality care services. These disparities and challenges experienced by this vulnerable population can be addressed through policies that promote improvements in delivery system and innovation. The proposed Equity of Care Act will address these problems and enhance the ability of ethnic and racial minorities to easily access and obtain quality health care. The bill will primarily focus on establishing a framework for equity in delivery of health care services by strengthening health care safety nets. The needs of this vulnerable population will be supported and promoted by ensuring equity, which is the core objective of a high performance health care delivery system.

Findings

The existing health care delivery modes are characterized by disparities in provision of health care services to ethnic and racial minorities in various ways. First, these systems promote differential access to care, which significantly affects these minorities (Lurie & Dubowitz, 2007, p.1119). The impact of the differential access is that it contributes to poor health and increased illness of the minorities because they are poor and have low academic levels. Secondly, the current health care delivery systems have higher rate of health conditions and tend to experience worse patient outcomes. As compared to higher income and non-minority populations, these minorities report worse health status because of disproportionate burden of diseases. Third, ethnic and racial minorities face increased structural obstacles in the current delivery systems. The structural problems in the existing health care delivery modes force this vulnerable population to obtain poorer quality care.

Purpose

As previously mentioned, the purpose of the proposed Equity of Care Act is to meet the health needs of ethnic and racial minorities with regards to accessing and obtaining quality care through strengthening health safety nets. This bill is based on the premise that equity is an important aspect in promoting a high performance health care delivery system that provides equitable services to all populations including ethnic and racial minorities. Strengthening safety-net providers is crucial towards this process since it will ensure that care providers have adequate resources to provide supportive care to these minorities. As the operations of these facilities improves, a high-performance delivery system, which caters for the needs of ethnic and racial minorities, will be realized.

The rationale for developing this bill includes its ability to ensure that the vulnerable population has adequate access to care and financial protection. Financial protection is crucial towards meeting the population's need since one of the major impediments to care access is the low socioeconomic status of the minorities. Secondly, the bill will bolster the care delivery systems that serve vulnerable populations i.e. safety-net providers. This is crucial because current safety-net providers are being forced to accomplish more with less in terms of meeting the health needs of vulnerable populations (The Commonwealth Fund, n.d.). The third rationale for proposing the bill is that it will promote collaboration between health care organization and community-based services. This is vital because the health needs of this population can be effectively met through collaborative efforts between different stakeholders.