Affordable Care Act (ACA), we are able to note that people still continue to face systematic exclusion from the healthcare system through its rigorous access. In the article by Tiffany D. Joseph and Helen B. Marrow, they explain how the affordable care act was introduced to expand healthcare aid but it still excludes minorities and immigrants from communities unable to receive full commitment from the healthcare system in the United States Of America. In the article we can examine this “ because Medicaid expansion was optional, and because states with higher proportions of minority and immigrant populations often did not opt in, health-

Care access improvements under the ACA were geographically stratified — leaving minority- and immigrant-heavy regions behind” (Joseph & Marrow, 2017). Through this evidence we are able to see that different places in the United States with higher minority and immigrant populations did not opt in for the medicaid expansion which resulted in some states and other states to be left behind. the state where you resided causing people who needed help not given a chance to be helped out.

Another time where we see where the affordable care act was supposed to help but created a disparity was through the ACA coverage plan. We can examine this through the article “ despite the dramatic rhetoric around the ACA’s promise of universal coverage many racial and ethnic minorities – especially those who are immigrants – remain left out of care, with persistent gaps in both insurance and access to services,” (Joseph & marrow, 2017). This shows that although ACA was meant to assist minorities it just emphasized the inequality shown to different populations, depending on the need of healthcare are not able to get the help they need due to them being immigrants.

 

Immigrants and minorities are often placed in the same category and often experience similar situations when it comes to unfair treatment within the U.S in general, This became even more common in the healthcare system when COVID 19 pandemic started. Damle, Wurtz, and samurai (2022) demonstrates how a latina immigrant woman had to face the fear and harsh discriminations and systemic barriers limited to the women’s ability. In the article it states “ One participant described her reluctance to seek care.. Saying that she tends to feel afraid, ashamed and frustrated going to ask for help for herself’ (Damle et al., 2022 p.4).   “ … we think that we may have had coronavirus symptoms, but we didn’t go to the hospital or anything. They gave priority to American citizens, so us as undocumented people.. We’re dying more. So that is what really made us afraid to go to the hospital” ( Damle et al. 2022, p.5).  Through these quotes we see how this highlights discrimination in the healthcare system for latinx immigrant women. We  can also see the frustration and shame that they feel coming into a medical setting. While American citizens are prioritized first and not following the systematic order which results in immigrants being skipped and given unfair treatment.

 

To further illustrate how the immigrant families face systemic barriers in the healthcare system  ,  despite being able to access healthcare that  they need but are often restricted due to people’s prejudice of them not being U.S citizens. But children in immigrant households are sometimes most likely to be uninsured and which results in them not being able to be covered by the hospital resulting in them not receiving the same type of care as others. Through the article   health disparities among children in immigrant households: New York City 2009 and 2017. We are shown that “ In 2017, children of immigrant parents in NYC were more likely to be uninsured than children of U.S born parents (Woo Badial).” In this piece of evidence we are able to see that children are able to be eligible for health insurance but due to them having immigrant status it causes them to have a bigger risk of being uninsured which results in them being treated differently than others .

Another time when we can see this happen “ policies intended to expand child health care access did not equitably reach children of immigrants despite their eligibility for health insurance. Tailored interventions for children of immigrants are needed to mitigate disparities in health insurance coverage” (li et al.).  Through this quote we are able to see how it highlights the inequality in the healthcare system for minorities and immigrants. Although they wants to expand access for people it still does not mean that people will get allowed to have access and even if they did get the access they would still be treated differently due to immigrant families and minorities facing  language challenges which can lead to them not benefiting from the services that are provided for them. In the quote the author uses a phrase called “ Tailored interventions that emphasizes that fairness in the healthcare system requires targeted solutions that address unique solutions that help immigrant children. Showing us that the health care system is not equally effective for all populations.

 

In The PBS newshour segment “ Research reveals depths of racial and ethnic bias in the health care system.” We see the reporters address the systemic discrimination that minorities and immigrants go through in the medical field . We see them report firsthand accounts from the health care workers, we see the article reveals that people go through racism and unequal expectations for patients. Due to ongoing language barriers continuing to shape how immigrants and minorities don’t have a voice to speak out with . Through the article and video from the PBS Newshour segment we were able to see “ there were also similar disparities when it came to language differences,with over 70 percent of latin workers saying that non-english speaking patients just get the same kind of care as english specking patients.”   In the piece of the information we are able to see how immigrants who may not be able to communicate their way into getting better treatment get treated like outsiders or get second hand treatment due to their irrelevance of being a U.S resident in order for them to stand up for themselves. Another example of this is when PBS News also reported that “ Healthcare systems need to create simple mechanisms for health care workers to anonymously report instances of discrimination.. And for patients to report concerns. By implementing confidential reporting methods. By implementing confidential reporting methods… we treat our patients to recognize the signs… by why can’t we pretreat out own internal staff on the signs.. Of discrimination?”   Through this cited work we are able to see that they are willing to make something that helps combat discrimination due to them being aware of the effects that come with it which causes people to have an unsettling feeling when they come into contact with a healthcare environment. We also see that even health care workers are able to experience discrimination and this makes the healthcare system wanna create something that helps them out allowing them to report people anonymously so there isn’t too much attention that gets back to them.