Health Disparity In Healthcare

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“Biomedicine” is defined as the globally dominant system of medicine, that is also referred to as Western medicine, scientific medicine, and cosmopolitan medicine (Singer & Baer, pg. 120). As mentioned by Dr. Messinger, biomedicine should be understood as a cultural system (Lecture 3, pg. 21) as all biomedical systems are embedded in different sociocultural contexts and are shaped by its own setting. Thus, different biomedicine may rely on different practices and may have different organization. “Health disparities” is defined as the disproportionate or excess morbidity, mortality and decreased life expectancy and the unequal health care access among disadvantaged populations (Singer & Baer, pg.176). Therefore, health disparity captures the…show more content…
This experience exemplifies the health disparity that is rampant in the United States. This relates to what we have learned in class in which access to insurance is dictated by certain criteria, including citizenship (Lecture 4, pg. 17). Due to my status as an international student, I did not have access to health insurance and this has prevented me from continuing to seek help. As a student who do not make any money, I could not afford the expensive service and I had to endure the excruciating pain for days. This experience made me realize how much I have taken insurance for granted and I was grateful that I could receive cheaper health care in Malaysia. However, most Americans do not have that privilege as access to health care are distributed unequally in the US. Millions of Americans, especially ethnic minorities, do not have access to health insurance (Singer & Baer, pg. 183). The lack of accessible and inexpensive insurance coverage will eventually compromise the health of Americans and residents of US significantly. Apart from that, this experience made me realize that the lack of insurance is not the only issue, but also the cost of the service in the US that is extremely high compared to the service in Malaysia. This shows how fundamental human needs, like health care, are being capitalized to the extent only certain people could afford

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