Left Behind in Healthcare

Healthcare assistance for low-income in the Bay Area has been ineffective.

“This is a Bay Area problem, where medical bills have skyrocketed leaving more and more left to think carefully before reaching out for help. ”

Low-income families in the Bay Area suffer the most when it comes to accessing healthcare. Sarah Gordon, executive director of Clinic by the Bay, a nonprofit helping uninsured patients, sees disheartening stories regularly. One of Gordon's uninsured patients with diabetes who was unable to afford treatment “was so far gone” that he had to amputate his leg, even though this could have been prevented. The government can do more to make sure our most vulnerable citizens get the healthcare they need. The Bay Area is especially obligated to make healthcare more accessible to low-income families because their residents are more affected by high health insurance costs than residents in other cities and it would improve our economy. 

The Bay Area, the most expensive place to live in California, does not do enough to accommodate low-income families with medical expenses. Ian Cull writes in NBC Bay Area that “San Jose's health care prices are 65 percent above the national average while San Francisco and Oakland's are nearly 50 percent above the national average.”

This is a Bay Area problem, where medical bills have skyrocketed leaving more and more left to think carefully before reaching out for help. According to the article, property costs in this area give insurance companies justification to price gouge, discouraging many from visiting a doctor. Vice Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital, Pui Lai, explains the consequences of this delay: “If they don't see a doctor regularly, and get sick, they show up at the emergency room. The ER staff, the ER equipment, and the time end up overburdening our emergency room, and then therefore the cost skyrockets.”

When low-income families can’t pay for insurance, they neglect their well-being and prolong their illnesses until it is exaggerated. Not only does it fill up the ER and occupy staff, but the patient can be overwhelmed by a large bill, forcing them into debt. Student of Leland High School, Manya Patel, expands on this view, stating, “Low-income families are stuck in a conundrum of issues leading them into a never-ending, self-deprecating cycle brought up by the system.”

For instance, the Affordable Care Act has been placed to “minimize the number of uninsured by making health care more affordable” but involves a tedious process to get covered. Lai maintains that most do not have the resources to reach out to lawyers or social workers to get the paperwork needed to fill out insurance papers and use Medicaid or Obamacare. Inflated healthcare prices in the Bay Area make low-income families even more reluctant to get the care necessary and these provided programs must work more effectively. 

However, as many opponents argue, universal healthcare would burden the economy, costing too much and potentially raising taxes in Silicon Valley. In actuality, the supported majority would bolster the economy by providing it with healthy people in the workforce, and there are ways to curb other government spending, like on the military, instead of raising taxes.

Penelope Dash in McKinsey Global Institute in 2020 calculated “the economic impact of better health and found that it could add $12 trillion to global GDP in 2040—an 8 percent boost, or 0.4 percent a year faster growth”. Making healthcare more affordable can create a healthier society, meaning that low-income families will not have to struggle for the care they need. One of the benefits of making a well-nourished society is increasing our global GDP, and creating economic growth. Dash suggests that the prevention of premature deaths increases the working-age population. Not only this, but there would be fewer absences from sickness, and workers would not be as preoccupied with their or their loved ones’ illnesses.

Rishika Rastogi, a student of Leland High School, believes “Healthcare is not prioritized enough,” even though other countries with universal healthcare systems have been able to do so, “it’s possible to provide welfare without spending too much money.” The Bay Area can create an effective medical system with the right management to protect the ever so important right that these low-income citizens deserve. 

Focusing on making healthcare more accessible to low-income families is significant as Bay Area residents are much more affected by heightened medical insurance costs than citizens in other cities and it would altogether bring economic growth. Taking care of those who are a critical part of this community is crucial to having a functioning society. The gentrification in the Bay Area has escalated too far and there is no excuse for such preventable inequality.

Works Cited

American Academy of Family Physicians. “Poverty and Health - the Family Medicine Perspective (Position Paper).” Www.aafp.org, Apr. 2021, www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/poverty-health.html. 

Cull, Ian. “Bay Area Has Highest Health Care Costs in the Country: Report.” NBC Bay Area, 25 Oct. 2018, www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bay-area-has-highest-health-care-cost-in-the-country-re port/168236/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023. 

Danielson, Caroline, et al. “The Impact of Health Insurance on Poverty in California.” Public Policy Institute of California, Mar. 2023, 

www.ppic.org/publication/the-impact-of-health-insurance-on-poverty-in-california/. Dash, Penelope. “How Prioritizing Health Could Help Rebuild Economies | McKinsey.” Www.mckinsey.com, 8 July 2020, www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/how-prioritizing-health-could-help -rebuild-economies. 

DeVoe, J. E. “Being Uninsured Is Bad for Your Health: Can Medical Homes Play a Role in Treating the Uninsurance Ailment?” The Annals of Family Medicine, vol. 11, no. 5, 1 Sept. 2013, pp. 473–476, https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1541. 

Echeverria, Danielle. “$104K a Year Is “Low-Income” for Single People in 3 Bay Area Counties, according to State Data.” San Francisco Chronicle, 22 June 2023, www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/low-income-median-levels-18164328.php. 

Foundation, Molly Burke, Bay City News. “Demystifying Data: With Millions of Californians Uninsured, Organizations Fill the Gaps.” Local News Matters, 23 Aug. 2022, localnewsmatters.org/2022/08/23/demystifying-data-with-millions-of-californians-uninsu red-organizations-fill-the-gaps/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023. 

Kissell, Chris. “What Happens If You Don’t Have Health Insurance? – Forbes Advisor.” Www.forbes.com, 3 Nov. 2022, www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/what-happens-if-you-dont-have-health-insuran ce/. 

Magazine, Harvard Public Health, and Marianne Mollmann. “Health Care Is a Human Right—and That Means Universal Access.” Harvard Public Health Magazine, 9 Aug. 2022, harvardpublichealth.org/equity/health-care-is-a-human-right/#:~:text=Under%20internati onal%20law%2C%20the%20right. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023. 

Sierra, Stephanie. “Uninsured and Unprotected: Data Shows Growing Health Insurance Gap across the Bay Area.” ABC7 San Francisco, 29 Sept. 2021, abc7news.com/health-insurance-uninsured-hispanics-in-bay-area-gap-inequities/1104524 8/. 

The Recovery Village. “Mental Illness and Poverty: A Depressing Reality.” The Recovery Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab, 12 July 2023, www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/mental-illness-and-poverty/. 

Zieff, Gabriel, et al. “Universal Healthcare in the United States of America: A Healthy Debate.” Medicina, vol. 56, no. 11, 30 Oct. 2020, pp. 1–7. National Library of Medicine, www.mdpi.com/1010-660X/56/11/580/htm, https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56110580.