How Healthcare Affects Low-Income Families and Single-Family Homes

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Health Care Effects on Lives
Introduction
The state of healthcare in the United States has been a subject of heated debates among scholars and observers. As the largest economy in the world, it can be expected that the United States should have the best healthcare system in the world. However, this is not the situation since the country fares unfavorably as compared with other developed countries, both in terms of healthcare spending and health outcomes (Barrett). During the peak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the real situation with the American healthcare system came to light as many Americans realized that they could not access or afford healthcare. This has been the result of a combination of factors, including the structure of the system, pricing for healthcare services, disease burden, and the delivery systems. However, the main concern for the system should be that many Americans fall under the category of low-income earners, which detrimentally affects affordability. This raises the question of how healthcare affects low-income families and single-family homes.
The focus of this essay is to address the question of how healthcare affects single-family homes and low-income families. To achieve this objective, the essay will present an overview of healthcare inequality in the United States, which explains how low-come individuals are adversely affected by negative healthcare outcomes. A discussion of the state of low-income families and single-family homes will follow, after which the affordability of health insurance will be explored. Lastly, the efforts of the government to address the health issues of these families will be examined.
Background to Health Inequality
Health inequality is a serious phenomenon across the world associated with a large number of people being unable to access healthcare services or disproportionately suffering health problems due to several reasons. According to Weinstein et al., the inequalities result from social, environmental, structural, and economic disparities causing intergroup differences in terms of health outcomes (99). Therefore, talking about low-income families means taking the low economic status as the reason they face the health effects. The American economy is capitalistic, which means that it embraces free markets where private individuals are allowed to possess and control factors of production. The result is that a few individuals have managed to amass massive resources leaving the larger part of the American society with little to live by. The economic determinants of health work through controlling access to healthcare services. In other words, health care in the United States has become commodified and subjected to the market forces of demand and supply. The high demand has forced the prices to rise since the supply remains less elastic. Therefore, individuals with low incomes could find themselves in a situation where they cannot afford healthcare services.
The health disparities in the United States disproportionately affect certain populations due to systemic issues that the country has faced for centuries. When considering low-income families, most of them comprise minority races, especially African Americans. Today, it is estimated that about 13.4% of the U.S. population is African American (Taylor). Even though this population has made giant strides towards achieving equality, only about 40% of this population own a home. This is a status that has remained unchanged since 1968, which means that African Americans will comprise a majority of the individuals falling under the categories of low-income families and single-family homes. However, it is important to acknowledge that all families with low incomes, regardless of race, tend to find it difficult to access healthcare and also suffer disproportionately from health outcomes.
While considering racial disparities, many scholars believe that the major disparities in health take many forms. Examples include premature death and higher rates of chronic illnesses. The major health issues associated with low-income families and racial minorities include infant mortality. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports that racial minorities record greater rates of infant gestational age, which is one of the critical indicators of infant mortality and morbidity. Infant mortality rates have declined across the general American population. However, the rates among minority races remain high. For example, the Alaskan Natives record a staggering 60% higher infant mortality rates than the white Americans (Weinstein et al. 60). The Natives are among the most marginalized communities in the country, both socially and economically, which highlights the essence of low-income families and the health effects they suffer. Low-income status is the result of several social and economic factors. For example, lack of access to education means that this population cannot get jobs, which consequently limits their potential to make a living. The main idea is that health inequalities are the broader problem causing the health effects faced by low-income families and single-family homes in the United States.
Status of Low Income and Single-Family Homes
Before exploring how low-income families and single-family homes are affected by health, it is important to explore the current status of these communities living in the United States. The Statista Research Department estimated in 2020 that the number of families in the United States living in poverty numbered 7.3 million. In this case, poverty and low income can be used synonymously since the effects of both conditions are almost similar. In other words, low-income and poor families face the same challenges in accessing health care and in dealing with health outcomes. This statistic had changed significantly since the 1990s, with the peak being between 2010 and 2014, when the figures across these years were above 9 million families. A steady decline was observed between 2014 and 2019 when the second-lowest statistics were recorded (6.55 million, the lowest was 6.4 million families recorded in 2000). However, a sharp increase was noted in 2020 when the number of families increased from 6.55 million in 2019 to 7.3 million in 2020. Therefore, it can be observed that low-income families comprise a major proportion of the country's population, and their health effects cannot be ignored.
Single-family homes have a different situation than low-income families. The definition of the term 'single-family home' can help distinguish between the economic status of the two categories of families. According to Johnson, a single-family home can be described as a freestanding home standing on its own piece of property. The official definition is an independent residential structure built on its own land and designed for use as a single unit of dwelling, with a single kitchen, unshared walls, and utilities. With this definition, it is apparent that single-family homes are dwellings for people with bigger financial resources since these units are often more expensive than other types of homes. In this case, the health effects of single-family homes are different from those the low-income families since the neighborhoods where people live also determine health outcomes and access to healthcare. The Statista Research Department estimated that in 2018, there were 82.64 million detached single-family homes across North America, a figure expected to reach 84.69 million in 2023. Therefore, it can be argued that the region has good neighborhoods where families that are well-off financially can live and can access the major social amenities.
The need to explore the health effects of single-family homes is that housing is a major social determinant of health. For instance, a safe house located away from various dangers can help promote good health and wellbeing (Morales-Brown and Bernstein). On the contrary, houses in polluted neighborhoods or near factories with high risks of contamination can cause health problems for residents. In many cases, single-family homes are located in good locations along with the urban and suburban areas where space is available, and living conditions are improved. It can be argued that these types of houses are meant for better neighborhoods where the residents can experience improved wellbeing. The rationale is that it is not economically feasible to build expensive houses in poor neighborhoods where people cannot afford them. In this essay, single-family homes are hardly considered endangered in terms of health effects, which means that the focus should be turned towards the low-income families where health disparities are experienced.
As mentioned earlier, low-income families can be classified as poor, which means that the poverty statistics of the country should help paint a better picture of the current status of health among low-income families. In a 2021 government census report, the 2020 poverty rate was 11.4%, an increase from 10.5% in 2019 (Shrider et al.). This is also the first time in five years that poverty rates have increased. The number of people falling under the category of poverty reached 37.2 million in 2020, which is estimated to be 3.3 million more than the number recorded in 2019. Poverty disproportionately affects certain races. For example, the poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics increased were 8.2% and 17.0%, respectively of these populations were in poverty between 2019 and 2020. However, the Blacks had the higher rate of poverty, estimated at 19.5%. These statistics support the idea of social disparities causing disproportionate detriments to certain communities.
Health Effects of Low-Income Families
Low income and poverty have been one of the most significant indicators of health. There has been strong empirical evidence showing that income has a positive relationship with health outcomes. Scholars have used this link between income and health to suggest economic and health policies for promoting equity and improving the health effects on society. There are several key points to derive from the association between income and health (Khullar and Chokshi). First, income is strongly linked with mortality and morbidity across the income distribution. Additionally, income-related health inequalities seem to be rising with time. Second, income affects longevity and health through behavioral, clinical, social, and environmental mechanisms. The relationships across these mechanisms intersect, which makes it impossible to single out a unique contribution of income to health. Third, poor health negatively affects income, which causes a negative feedback loop called the health-poverty trap. In other words, people with poor health status either spend too much of their income on health or reduce their ability to earn higher incomes. Lastly, income disparities have grown significantly over the last few decades, which tends to exacerbate or perpetuate the health disparities.
Having a low income has been considered to be a barrier to accessing health care. A review of literature presented by Lazar and Davenport reveals that low incomes pose various challenges for families and children (28). The most prevalent of these challenges is access to healthcare. The barriers to accessing healthcare include complications with health insurance, lack of education, and distrust of the healthcare system. Each of these barriers is also influenced by several factors that affect the various sub-groups of vulnerable low-income families. In this case, it can be argued that low income is the result of several economic factors. Examples include unemployment and poor education, which affect access to education. Health insurance is often the mechanism that bridges the gap in the access to healthcare where all individuals with health insurance can afford care. Complications in the processes and procedures involved in accessing health insurance further complicate the problem for low-income families, who already are not in a position to rely on their incomes alone to afford care.
As mentioned earlier, low income emanates from such factors as lack of education and unemployment. Therefore, some scholars have opted to make a direct link between work and health outcomes. According to Ahonen et al., work is an inclusive part of health inequalities facing certain populations. The rationale given by these scholars is that work is the primary determinant of an individual's income. Similarly, the conditions of work also tend to shape the health outcomes of a person. In this case, it can be argued that the effects of work on health are two-fold. First, work determines the income that a person gets, which then dictates the access to healthcare. Second, the condition of work poses health risks for an individual, which influence the health status of a person. In other words, some occupations are hazardous since they can expose a worker to injuries, infections, and contaminations. Therefore, the concept of work presents a broader perspective of the extent to which low-income families suffer in terms of health. Access to work may be one of the main tools for boosting income and improving access to care. Equally, work can also be the key determinant of a person's health conditions.
In many cases, income and wealth are used to imply the same thing regarding the economic status of an individual. The term 'income' can be defined as the amount of money earned from employment in a given period. It can also imply any form of government assistance interests on dividends or other investments or pension payments (Weinstein et al. 127). Therefore, income can be a variable element depending on the economic conditions. For instance, people who depended on wages and salaries before the COVID-19 outbreak may have lost them or received less of them during the pandemic. On the contrary, wealth can be defined as the economic assets accumulated over time, including houses, cars, land, pension plans, savings accounts, businesses, and other financial investments. Wealth tends to offer a better picture of an individual's economic status when measured at one point. Even if wealth can also change, the economic conditions may not have changed as big as experienced with income. Before the pandemic, people who had cars, land, businesses, and other investments still had them during the pandemic. However, their rate of returns could be affected, which has an impact on the growth of the wealth.
The need to consider the two terms, wealth and income, is that they have different implications on health outcomes. The idea of systemic inequalities causing disproportionate effects on health outcomes among minority races implies that income levels can be determined by race. Since wealth can be intergenerational, poor communities are most likely victims of the systemic injustices spanning several generations. In this case, the African Americans started as slaves before emancipation, after which racism hindered their economic growth. Therefore, the low-income status among members of this community is the result of the lack of intergenerational wealth and economic conditions that prevent them from bridging the income gap between them and the white majority. Income can be determined by wealth, which means that income can also be used as a predictor of health outcomes (Weinstein et al. 127). However, the fluctuations in income could mean that health outcomes are better when an individual starts earning more and poorer when an individual starts earning less. Overall, wealth remains a more stable predictor of health outcomes since wealth dictates incomes and hence the affordability of and access to health care.
Across the United States, it can be observed that different populations have different income levels and that the gaps seem to be increasing. It is possible to find a company's CEO earning more than 350 times more than a line worker. In such a situation, it can be argued that the CEO will have privileged access to health and will experience positive health outcomes. On the contrary, the line worker will not have enough income to cater to the current needs alongside an already expensive health care. According to Weinstein et al., the income inequality in the United States is rising at a higher rate as compared to the rest of the developed world (128). As a result, income inequality in the country is the major cause of the concentration of poverty among the working class. For example, the class distribution in 1970 was 17%, 65%, and 19% for upper, middle, and lower classes, respectively. The figures recorded in 2012 were 30%, 41%, and 30% for upper, middle, and lower classes, respectively. The middle class has significantly reduced while the lower class has significantly increased. This is evidence of rising income inequality and the inability of many people in the working class to meet some basic needs with their income level, which relegates them to the lower class.
Income has also been associated with the concept of concentrated poverty, a term used to imply the concentration of poverty in some neighborhoods. Poverty is a major determinant of health since poor individuals cannot access healthcare, and their behaviors and lifestyles also expose them to greater health risks. As mentioned earlier, the neighborhood that a person lives in dictates health and wellbeing, especially the type of housing and the immediate environment. Therefore, income inequality is ...