A Mother Brings Her Daughter Into The Emergency Room

A Mother Brings Her Daughter Into The Emergency Room During An Asthma

A mother brings her daughter into the emergency room during an asthma attack. Though both of her parents work, they cannot afford medical insurance for themselves or her. They also earn too much money to qualify for state or federal aid. She is treated with medication for her asthma attack at the hospital and she and her mother leave. Two weeks later, they return to the hospital in a virtually identical scenario.

In a 4-5 page paper, consider the following questions and explain your position of the issues: Do you think that this girl is receiving adequate care? Should she be able to see a primary-care physician before her condition gets so acute that she must visit the ER? Should everyone be entitled to a basic minimum of health care or to the exact same health care? Do you think that health care is a right? If so, is everyone forced to honor this right? Is this right relative or universal? Does this right exist because of the wealth of the United States, or is it applicable everywhere? Is health care a luxury? Does having money entitle a person to better health care? Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria.

Click here to view the grading rubric. Please submit your assignment. Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following: TITLE PAGE. Remember the Running head: AND TITLE IN ALL CAPITALS. ABSTRACT. A summary of your paper, not an introduction. Begin writing in third person voice. BODY. The body of your paper begins on the page following the title page and abstract page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The type face should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics except as required for APA level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is 3-4 pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged. REFERENCE PAGE. References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hang indention, italics, and upper and lower case usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference Page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation. For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Paper For Above instruction

The scenario of a young girl with asthma repeatedly requiring emergency care highlights critical issues surrounding healthcare accessibility, equity, and the societal values that underpin health systems. This paper explores whether the current healthcare provisions for this girl constitute adequate care, whether primary care access prior to emergency interventions is necessary, and whether healthcare is a universal right or a privilege based on socioeconomic status. Additionally, it considers the implications of societal wealth, conceptions of healthcare as a basic human right, and the ethical considerations of healthcare entitlement.

Assessment of Current Care and Need for Primary Care Access

The recurrent emergency visits by the girl point to a systemic failure in providing adequate preventive and primary healthcare. Emergency rooms (ERs) serve as critical safety nets but are not suitable for managing chronic conditions like asthma that require ongoing management and early intervention (Fung et al., 2017). Without regular access to primary care physicians, patients with asthma are more likely to experience severe attacks, hospitalization, and, as in this scenario, repeated emergency visits. The lack of a consistent healthcare provider compromises effective asthma management, increasing both health risks and healthcare costs (Liautaud et al., 2019). Therefore, while emergency care addresses immediate needs, it does not substitute for primary or preventive care that can reduce the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.

Healthcare as a Right versus Privilege

The ethical debate centers around whether healthcare should be regarded as a fundamental human right or a privilege based on one’s socioeconomic status. Many frameworks suggest that access to healthcare is a fundamental right rooted in the principles of dignity and equality (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). Universal health coverage aims to ensure that all individuals receive necessary health services without financial hardship. Conversely, the current U.S. healthcare system tends to treat healthcare as a commodity, where access often depends on personal wealth or insurance coverage (Cohen & Mello, 2017). This disparity results in individuals like the girl’s family being limited to emergency interventions while lacking access to primary care that could prevent such crises.

Societal Wealth and Healthcare Equity

The notion that healthcare is a right extends beyond national borders, implying that access should not depend on a country’s wealth. Countries with universal healthcare systems, such as Canada and the UK, demonstrate that equitable healthcare is achievable irrespective of financial resources (Barnes et al., 2018). The argument that healthcare is a luxurious service available only to the wealthy ignores international human rights standards and the ethical obligation to promote health as a universal good (World Medical Association, 2017). In the United States, the substantial resources allocated to healthcare reflect wealth-driven priorities, but they do not justify denying basic health services to vulnerable populations.

Healthcare as a Luxury or Entitlement

Viewing healthcare as a luxury constitutes a moral failing, especially when medical treatment can mean the difference between life and death or significant quality of life improvements. Money can influence the quality and timeliness of care received, but it should not determine access to fundamental health services. Ethical principles such as justice and equity imply that all individuals, regardless of economic status, should have access to essential health services (Persad et al., 2018). The persistent inequalities in healthcare access in the U.S. underscore the need for reforms that recognize health as a right rather than a privilege.

Implications for Policy and Ethical Considerations

Addressing these disparities requires policy interventions aimed at expanding access to primary healthcare, strengthening health insurance coverage, and reducing financial barriers. Countries with successful universal health systems illustrate that prioritizing health equity leads to better population health outcomes and social cohesion (WHO, 2019). The ethical imperative is to recognize healthcare as a fundamental human right, which entails societal responsibility to ensure that all members can access necessary services. While wealth influences the quality and timeliness of care, societal commitment to health equity can mitigate these disparities, fostering a more just and humane healthcare system (Marmot, 2015).

Conclusion

The case of the young girl underscores that current practices often fall short of providing equitable, preventive healthcare. Recognizing healthcare as a human right necessitates societal and policy shifts toward universal coverage, reducing dependency on socioeconomic status for access. Health is a vital component of human dignity and societal well-being, and ensuring universal access is both an ethical obligation and a pragmatic strategy for healthier populations. As nations grapple with healthcare equity, models from countries with established universal systems offer valuable lessons on how to approach healthcare as a fundamental human right rather than a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

References

• Barnes, M., Blanchard, J., & Walker, J. (2018). Healthcare systems in comparative perspective. Global Public Health, 13(4), 423-438.
• Cohen, J., & Mello, M. M. (2017). Ethical frameworks for health care policy. Journal of Medical Ethics, 43(5), 319-324.
• Fung, L. T., Parker, H., & McLellan, A. T. (2017). The role of emergency departments in managing chronic diseases. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 35(12), 1884-1888.
• Liautaud, S., McClellan, R., & Young, H. (2019). Preventive care in asthma management. Pediatric Pulmonology, 54(5), 610-616.
• Marmot, M. (2015). The health gap: The challenge of an unequal world. British Medical Journal, 350, h1580.
• Persad, G., Hillan, K., & Asch, D. (2018). Justice and fairness in healthcare resource allocation. Bioethics, 32(3), 177-182.
• World Health Organization. (2015). Health systems financing: The path to universal coverage. WHO Press.
• World Health Organization. (2019). Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030. WHO Press.
• World Medical Association. (2017). WMA Declaration of Geneva. WMA Political Statement.