In the United States, there is a division of quality care based on households’ income thresholds. Usually, as wealth increases, treatment and public health systems tend to become more effective. These disparities in access to care can be prominently seen through life expectancy and disease ratios which vary through different income brackets.
One of the many ways we can see divisions in quality healthcare is through diabetes and obesity ratios. Frequently, in neighborhoods with a higher poverty rate, there is greater access to fast-food locations–McDonalds, Starbucks, Wendy’s, you name it. Researchers Peter James, Mariana C Arcaya, Devin M Parker, and Reginald Tucker-Seeley analyzed the average driving distance to the five closest fast-food locations. They noted that as the percent below the poverty line increases, the average distance decreases. Fast-food places are normally seen as affordable meals–even though their meals are often less healthy and sometimes more costly than other options–so there is higher demand for them in more impoverished areas. Fast-food places are more unhealthy and include abnormally high levels of sugar, sodium, and caffeine, which are serious detriments to people’s well-being. Alarmingly, in 2023, Sarah Katz, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, ordered a charged lemonade from Panera Bread. Containing more than 390 milligrams of caffeine, the drink had more caffeine than a Red Bull and Monster drink combined. Unfortunately, she had Cardiac Arrest due to her heart condition and died several hours after drinking the lemonade. Another restaurant that has alarmingly high health concerns is Raising Canes. Their Box Combo–a meal consisting of four chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, coleslaw, and Cane’s sauce–contains over 2,000 milligrams of sodium. For preface, the American Heart Association recommends that people shouldn’t consume more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Thus, the vast access to fast-food in more impoverished neighborhoods increases obesity and diabetes rates which deepens the healthcare gap across the United States.
The less accessible healthcare for people who are lower-income is seen by the differences in life expectancy between people in various income brackets. The life expectancy of the richest 1% compared to the poorest 1% of people varied by an average of 14.6 years for men and an average of 10.1 years for women in 2001 through 2014. These can be attributed to differences in the surroundings based on income and the quality of healthcare for people. In more wealthy areas, hospitals have greater funding and better equipment to treat citizens. Contrasting this, smaller hospitals received approximately 40 percent lower funding than larger complexes in wealthier areas in 2021. In 2020 alone, over 19 rural hospitals shut down, and from 2010 to 2021, 136 rural hospitals closed. This shows how the availability of health centers and better care systems can vastly increase life expectancy.
It is important to bridge this gap in healthcare because of the underlying issues like classism, further dividing groups. By addressing these issues, we can work toward a more equitable healthcare system that ensures, regardless of income or where they live, people will have access to quality care.
Written by Michael Shohat
