Economics and Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Economics and Healthcare - Assignment Example Hence any significant change in the economy brings about simultaneous changes in access to and provision of health care. In a system which is bound by an employment-based healthcare coverage and where provision of healthcare essentially depends on the country’s economy, understanding the impact of economics on health care is of crucial significance. The healthcare system in the United States is focused on provision of services which are cost-effective to consumers who demand greater accessibility and better quality at affordable rates (White, 2005). A country which is regarded as the world leader in terms of medical advances and research and technology in the field of medicine, the lack of access to healthcare and primary health care services is one of the most critical and on-going issues faced by it since several decades (Gulliford and Morgan, 2003). An overwhelming majority of the population who are at the bottom of the economic pyramid include those insured by Medicaid, low wage earners as well as those who are uninsured and underinsured. This paper discusses the complex interactions between economics, employment, and provision of healthcare services in the country; the impact of the impact of provision of healthcare to a vulnerable section of the population such as the uninsured; the key implications for nursing in delivering patient care to the uninsured and its impact on the nursing profession. Any disturbance in the economy of a country is likely to result in the usage of and access to medical care, since it directly affects the individual’s ability to pay for such care. Recessions often lead to large scale unemployment, which in turn affect the access to insurance, since most of the healthcare services in the United States are employment-based (Catalano, 2009). Furthermore the willingness of an individual to pay for