What the Author Means by her Book’s Subtitle
The author uses the subtitle “Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity” to discuss the challenges affecting more than 40 million citizens in the United States. Most of these people continue to suffer the upshots of inadequate health and medical care. The author uses the subtitle to express how the situation has developed a Caste System in the country. The situation distresses many citizens in the country.
The most affected people include marginalized employees and chronically ill elders (Sered 24). Susan Sered explains why many people across the country cannot afford proper health insurance or support. Most of the marginalized citizens live in poverty.
The author uses the term life-and-death to describe why the issue has become relevant today. The book presents real-life events and situations as experienced by many people across the nation. These people are struggling to survive with poor or no health insurance.
The subtitle also explains how the public is unaware of the challenges faced by many American citizens. This problem will continue to affect many people in the country. Many people consider America as the land of opportunity. The use of life and death in the subtitle explains why many Americans are suffering due to unfair insurance practices, lack of proper health care, and unavailability of health insurance (Sered 26).
Sered digs deeper to explore how poverty and inequality affect the quality of health availed to different citizens in the United States. The book also explains why many caregivers and nurses do not have medical insurance in the United States. The author presents the best perspectives on the emerging issue of health insurance. Most of the poor and elderly citizens have no access to proper healthcare.
The book’s subtitle reflects the challenges affecting many Americans. According to the author, over 40 million Americans are underinsured. This discussion explains why most of these people have to choose between their health needs and food. The rest of the world believes that Americans are living in the land of great opportunities. Most of the health challenges and obstacles faced by the people undermine these opportunities.
Every American citizen with a health challenge has already entered the infamous death spiral (Sered 37). The author goes further to explain why the United States has become the land of social inequality. The country does not have sustainable health insurance for its citizens. Many people have suffered in the country because they are underinsured or have no medical cover.
How Social Inequalities Affect Healthcare
Different factors determine the distribution and availability of healthcare services. Most of these factors are personal, societal, social, or national. Social inequalities play a significant role in the distribution of medical support and healthcare.
Social inequality is closely associated with wealth disparity in many countries like the United States (Sered 282). The gap between the poor and the rich contributes to these inequalities. This situation explains why most of the citizens do not have medical insurance (Sered 273). As well, having medical cover does not assure a person full access to quality healthcare (Sered 275).
Wage disparity is a common problem in the country. Most of the economic systems are usually hierarchical. The disparity explains why some people with insurance might not be able to access the best health services in the country.
The type of “medical insurance will affect the accessibility of quality care” (Sered, 275). This explains why many people encounter different challenges in the country. This situation results from social inequality. This affects people’s access to quality care. This also affects Medicaid coverage in the country (Sered 275).
Most of the affected citizens in the United States cannot receive the best healthcare. Racial inequality results from actions and beliefs that rank races as either inferior or superior to one another. Racial inequalities will affect healthcare in every society (Sered, 285).
Social inequality determines who gets the best education and services. The less fortunate individuals find it hard to achieve their goals. This has affected the financial positions of many people (Sered, 279).
Social inequality explains why “most of the insured persons in the country do not have access to proper healthcare” (Sered 275). Different studies in the United States and around the globe have confirmed this distressing pattern. The social position of these citizens influences their health statuses. It is impossible to get the best healthcare and support if you are born in an impoverished or marginalized society.
Most of these marginalized groups are born in relative poverty. These persons do not get both employment and schooling opportunities. The book explains how social inequality and economic status are the major shapers of disability, mortality, and health in many countries. Most of the societies with greater education, income, and gender inequalities lack proper health services.
The outstanding challenge is that most of the American healthcare professionals and journalists have failed to acknowledge the implications of this fact. Every society should embrace the best practices and ideas to deal with these social inequalities (Sered 285). The practice will be essential towards providing equal healthcare opportunities to every citizen in the United States and across the world.
Works Cited
Sered, Susan. Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Print.