Examining Disparities in Healthcare Access and Coverage: The Impact of Minority Statusand Social Class

The study examines relationships between racial identities, socioeconomic status (SES),and access to health care, investigating to what degree racial minorities and lower socioeconomicgroups in the U.S. encounter more healthcare barriers and experience worse health outcomes.There is substantial evidence from previous studies that people of color, especially Blacks,Hispanics, and Native Americans, confront disproportionate obstacles when trying to get thehealthcare that they need (Buchmueller 2020; Cogburn 2019; Lee 2021; Phelan 2015; Weissman2018). These obstacles include greater rates of uninsurance, trouble locating doctors, andencounters with discrimination. This research used secondary data from the 2018 NationalSurvey of Health Attitudes (NSHA) conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)and Research and Development Corporation (RAND). A total of 7,187 individuals participatedin this survey. Consistent with Critical Race Theory and the Minority Stress Model, the results ofthe study indicate that those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and non-whites face greaterobstacles when it comes to healthcare access, coverage, and health status compared to whiteAmericans.本研究探讨了种族身份、社会经济地位（Socioeconomic Status，SES）与医疗服务可及性之间的关联，旨在考察美国少数族裔与低社会经济地位群体在多大程度上会遭遇更多医疗保健障碍，并面临更差的健康结局。既往已有大量研究证据表明，有色人种——尤其是非裔、西班牙裔与美国原住民——在获取所需医疗服务时会面临不成比例的阻碍（Buchmueller 2020; Cogburn 2019; Lee 2021; Phelan 2015; Weissman 2018）。这些阻碍包括更高的无保险率、难以寻找到接诊医生，以及遭遇歧视。本研究采用了罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会（Robert Wood Johnson Foundation，RWJF）与兰德公司（Research and Development Corporation，RAND）于2018年开展的《全国健康态度调查》（National Survey of Health Attitudes，NSHA）的二手数据，该调查共纳入7187名受访者。结合批判种族理论（Critical Race Theory）与少数族裔压力模型（Minority Stress Model）的分析框架，本研究结果显示，与美国白人相比，社会经济地位较低群体与非白人人群在医疗服务可及性、医保覆盖范围及健康状况方面均面临更多障碍。