Question

What is a health disparity? How is the affected by our demographics (gender, race, age, income etc.)?

Have you faced (or heard of) any issues with today’s healthcare system? If so, please share your observations (within your comfort level).

In your opinion, should healthcare be free for everyone? Why/Why not?

Answer 1

Health Disparity : It refers to the difference in health status of different groups of people. Some group of people have higher possibility of getting affected to diseases. Some group of people have more deaths compared to some other. Some groups have less access to health care and resources etc.

These groups can be based on

1. Gender

2. Geography or location

3. Ethnicity

4. Race

5. Income

6. Literacy

You can consider the case of small villages which don't have necessary access to medical facilities. People from these places have more death rates or have more health issues because they don't have the necessary facilities or technology in reach. People die because of unable to get the medical facility on time and unable to get access to modern technology to cure diseases. This is more common in under developed countries. Developing countries are trying to penetrate the medical facilities to rural level.

Ideologically speaking, Health care should be free because it's the responsibility of the government to make sure people are getting the basic needs for the livelihood. When a person is unable to get basic needs, the country can never develop.

But practically speaking, it is diffudiff and highly impractical to provide free health care facilities. Best thing to do would be to provide medical care at cheap cost (so that everyone will be able to access it) with schemes and make sure that medical facilities are in reach to everyone in the country.