When people find out that they or their child will be living with a long-term disability or illness, or live with chronic pain, the first emotion many people feel is concern. How will this change their life? What will their life look like compared to what they are used to? These are all very valid concerns that are common to those who live with a disability. However, for some, the concern goes beyond that. How will they afford treatment? Will the doctors believe that they need treatment, or will it be chalked up to period pain? Are they going to be treated fairly by their doctors, compared to the treatment received by their white counterparts? These concerns are an unfortunate reality for many minorities who rely on the healthcare system. Women, people of color, and low-income families often face discrimination when seeking treatment for their disabilities or pain that can change their entire lives, even though many professionals claim to condemn these forms of bias.
Unfortunately, discrimination is an inherent part of having a disability. A person who lives with a disability will likely be discriminated against for their disability, regardless of their social status. Look at the movie “The Upside”, for example. The main character, Phillip, is a straight, white, billionaire man who is a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair full time. With all his other traits, he would typically be looked up to and highly regarded in society. However, due to his disability, he is looked down upon and treated like he is invisible (Burger). Many people who live with disabilities do not fit the model of straight, white, male, and financially stable. Women, people of color, people in the LGBT community, and low-income families face an array of discrimination for their disability such as sexism, racism, and homophobia, just to name a few.
If you ask ten women about their experience in healthcare, at least one of them will report having faced discrimination, while 29 percent of women have felt dismissed or disregarded for their pain (Fredericksen 1). For women with disabilities, the healthcare system is responsible for keeping them alive and well. However, many women feel as if they cannot trust the system that was set in place and designed to protect them. In the book The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women, author Anushay Hossain explores how sexism and racism lead to women, especially women of color, facing discrimination in the healthcare system at an extremely high rate. She explains her own experiences, as well as other women’s stories. Hossain says, “In researching this book, I spoke with almost one hundred women with various medical issues. All of them had had their pain dismissed by medical professionals,” (Hossain 23). In my experience, this is very true. My mother and grandmother once told me, during my struggle to find treatment for my chronic pain condition, that the doctors would not look into it much because of the simple fact that I am a woman. Why are so many doctors comfortable turning away women in pain, simply because they are women? Many doctors are reliant on the idea that women are crazy, exaggerating, stressed, or anything but in need of medical treatment. This leads to women receiving less treatment. For example, in The Pain Gap, Hossain says, “Other research has shown that clinicians are more likely to suggest psychosocial causes, such as stress, to female patients in pain even when they would order lab tests more frequently for a male patient with similar symptoms,” (Hossian 24). In the best scenario, women live with debilitating pain due to this lack of treatment. Worst-case scenario the condition is not treated at the beginning and worsens over time which has led to many women dying from this neglect in the medical field. Once women stop being treated as disposable, the medical field will finally become a safe place for women to open up about their pain and finally receive care and the equal treatment that we were promised.
Women are not alone in their mistreatment by the healthcare system. Systemic racism is a hidden element of many systems in the world, with healthcare being no exception. Not only do the racist ideals of many healthcare systems prevent many people of color from receiving adequate care, but they also root a distrust in many people that could prevent them from even trying to find a doctor who would treat them fairly (Elias and Yin 42). When seeking healthcare for chronic pain or disabilities, many people of color face the same barriers that I referenced before. Many are seen as crazy or exaggerating. Other cases show people of color, specifically black patients, receiving lower doses of pain medication for the same condition as their white counterparts. This discrimination roots back to the 19th century, when doctors falsely claimed that people of color had fewer nerve endings or higher pain tolerances to justify violence and medical tests on slaves. This false claim has carried on throughout healthcare, with a 2016 survey showing many white medical students still believing this claim. (“Racial Discrimination in Healthcare…” 1). Though studies show that these biases may not be direct beliefs and actions from healthcare providers, the results are the same regardless of the beliefs of the person putting them in place. These doctors often actively condemn racism and bias but are unknowingly continuing the dangerous traditions that put people of color at risk in the healthcare system.
One factor that impacts all people with disabilities is the factor of cost of treatment. Regardless of age, race, or gender, financial burdens from disability impact everybody. This is especially true for those who have a low income or live below the poverty line but still must rely on the healthcare system. The burden of many treatments for disability may prevent a person from receiving proper care simply because they cannot afford it. For example, Dillon Hooley is a person who lives with Type 1 diabetes. He made national news in 2019 for cutting back on his insulin by “about a third” because his parents struggled to pay for it. The stress of Dillon’s diabetes treatment put so much stress on the family that his father was stressed to the point a mistake at work cost him his finger, leading to more financial burdens (Cohen 1). This article, advertised as a feel-good story about a teenager saving money for his family, is a terrifying reality for many families across the country. Many people are torn between groceries and rent or treatment, which is a choice that nobody should have to make. This financial stress is extremely high in some groups compared to others. While some families may have to cut back a little, many people of color, single parents, or families with multiple members that have disabilities struggle even more than the average, white, two-income family. Living with a disability is life-changing for anybody, but for many, the stress about their disability does not end when their treatment starts. For some, that is only the beginning.
Ultimately, the healthcare system is full of discrimination and bias, both conscious and unconscious. Though many healthcare providers vow to treat all patients equally, generations of bias and prejudice show that this is not always the case. Women, people of color, and low-income families are treated poorly compared to others. This is slowly being addressed, but many people with disabilities who rely on the healthcare system still face unfair treatment due to gender, race, and income.
References
Burger, Neil, director. The Upside. STX Entertainment, 2017.
Cohen, Elizabeth, and John Bonifield. “To Save His Parents Money, This Diabetic Teen Cut Back on His Insulin.” CNN, Cable News Network, 30 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/health/rising-drug-costs/index.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
Elias, Amanuel, and Yin Paradies. “The Costs of Institutional Racism and Its Ethical Implications for Healthcare.” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, vol. 18, no. 1, 2 Jan. 2021, pp. 45–58, doi:10.1007/s11673-020-10073-0.
Fredericksen, Brittani, and Michelle Long. “Women’s Experiences with Provider Communication and Interactions in Health Care Settings: Findings from the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey.” KFF, 14 May 2023, http://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/womens-experiences-with-provider-communication-interactions-health-care-settings-findings-from-2022-kff-womens-health-survey/#:~:text=One%20in%20ten%20(9%25),in%20the%20past%20two%20years. Accessed 09 Apr. 2024.
Hossain, Anushay. The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women. Simon and Shuster, 2021.
“Racial Discrimination in Healthcare: How Structural Racism Affects Healthcare.” St. Catherine University, 15 June 2021, http://www.stkate.edu/academics/healthcare-degrees/racism-in-healthcare. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
Sprockets and Springes 