The Forgotten: Uninsured Children Essays -- Health Care

This paper is going to define oppression, describe an oppressed group and a framework. Oppression is defined as â€Å"unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power or a sense of being weighed down in body or mind† (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2010) The oppressed population that I am going to describe is uninsured children with a disability. Typically, children obtain health insurance coverage through their parents. If parents lack health insurance, so will their children. This paper will discuss the social problem of the inability of children with a disability to obtain health insurance. The primary social welfare issue to be addressed is the absence of affordable, comprehensive health insurance for children from birth to eighteen. When a child is uninsured it often means that people will postpone necessary care and forego preventive care - such as childhood immunizations and routine check-ups-completely. Because the uninsured usually have no regular doctor and limited access to prescription medications, they are more likely to be hospitalized for health conditions that could be avoided. One example, regarding this was told by a medical student. American Medical Student Association told a story of a young boy with a heart defect which made him vulnerable to infections. His mother, a janitor, couldn't afford to take him to the dentist when he developed a tooth infection. By the time his pain grew intolerable; his heart was infected with bacteria from the tooth infection. Spiking fevers, fatigue and chest pain developed a few weeks later. He arrived at the ER wit h sub acute bacterial endocarditic, which required six weeks of preventable hospitalization. Damage to the boy's heart was irreversible. The conceptual framework... ..., H. J., & Stoesz, D. (2005). American social welfare policy: a pluralistic approach. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (2010). Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Missouri Foundation for Health. (2004). Economic and health benefits of Missouri Medicaid. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from http://www.mffh.org National Coalition of Healthcare. (2004). Facts on health insurance coverage. Retrieved April19, 2005, from http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.pdf National Coalition of Healthcare. (2004). Health insurance cost. Retrieved February 3, 2005, from http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml National Health Policy Forum. (2005). The basics: Medicaid. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://www.nhpf.org United States Department of Labor. (2010) Retrieved June 4, 2010 from http://www.dol.gov/