The Affordable Care Act Of The United States - 1616 Words

Studies in various cities in the United States have revealed that there is an overall inadequacy of health care for low income, homeless, and uninsured individuals (Hwang et al., 2010). The government has recognized the lack of healthcare for these individuals. For many years, politicians have been struggling to enact a healthcare reform. Finally, in March 2010 the Affordable Care act was written into law (Hammer, Phillips, Schmidt, 2010). There have been many debates on the pros and cons and how effective this act will be at achieving the goal. These debates raise the question, should poor or homeless individuals be required to pay for healthcare insurance? Experiencing poverty or homelessness presents unique barriers to all aspects†¦show more content†¦Many who have experienced food insufficiency feel that health care is a lower priority when directing their personal resources. Another barrier is vision impairment, the person may be unable to navigate the system or colle ct needed health information due to poor eye sight (Baggett, O’Connell, Singer, Rigotti, 2010). Finding transportation to clinics or provider’s offices to receive care may enable some from using preventive care. Another major factor is stigmatism. A homeless man or woman may feel they are being stigmatized by health care professionals (Hwang et al., 2010). Work for the homeless often comes day by day and is unpredictable. In addition their current job may be the only source of income for the individual or family. The consequences of missing work even for health reasons is costly to someone’s survival, making work their number one priority. These various reasons can lead to prolonged homelessness, loss of employment related to inability to work from being ill, and further health deterioration or possibly death (Hwang et al., 2010). The extent that homeless individuals are able to obtain health care is largely unknown (Baggett, O’Connell, Singer, Rigotti, 2010). In a study on the use of primary care among a homeless population two main barriers were established. These were the inability to afford care and the prioritization of other needs above