Disability has emerged as an integral topic in national health policy discussions, and new research is shedding more light on its health impacts and barriers for people with disabilities.
Health care for disabled individuals must include reasonable accommodations and modifications, such as longer appointments or access to assistive technologies or medical equipment. Disability services Melbourne can also limit access to disease prevention programs.
Health Insurance Coverage
People with disabilities often gain health insurance through Social Security’s disability programs, SSDI and SSI. While these do not directly provide coverage, qualifying for them gives access to Medicaid or Medicare in their state. Some also purchase marketplace plans which do not have restrictions regarding preexisting conditions or annual or lifetime dollar limits, making these options accessible and suitable.
Study of Medicare enrollees who were disabled found that those with longer periods of disability were more likely to have private coverage while those with shorter disabilities were less likely. Factors like income, education, family size and sex also affected this likelihood. Furthermore, disabled Medicare enrollees tend to need more long-term care services than aged Medicare enrollees and thus more likely than aged Medicare enrollees to qualify for Medicaid services.
Preventive Care
Prevention of illness and injury for disabled people is an integral aspect of their healthcare, yet they face several barriers that prevent them from accessing preventive healthcare regularly. These may include issues related to gender, age, urbanization of residence areas, education level, income level, disability severity as well as access to healthcare sites with accessible equipment.
Lack of awareness among persons with disabilities regarding the importance of preventive healthcare is also an issue, and communication difficulties with their doctors or inability to comprehend medical information provided may make matters worse.
Disabled patients are at increased risk for certain conditions and diseases, such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and certain forms of cancer. By providing preventive healthcare to these patients it can improve mobility, reduce social isolation and enhance quality of life while saving money in medical costs over time. Preventive healthcare also allows disabled individuals to save money in medical expenses over time by lowering expenses long term.
Treatment
People with disabilities frequently struggle to access the medical care they need. This includes having access to routine gynecological exams and screening tests for sexually transmitted diseases; receiving mental health treatment as needed and learning about birth control options. Furthermore, health care providers may harbor misperceptions about disability which impede effectiveness in their work, while many medical schools only provide limited exposure to persons with disabilities during medical training programs.
One of the primary barriers to healthcare access for people with disabilities is lack of access to culturally competent care providers and service providers, compounded by communication challenges faced by deaf/hard of hearing individuals who primarily utilize sign language for communication purposes.
Although Medicaid and Medicare offer publicly financed health insurance coverage for persons with disabilities, individuals still experience difficulty accessing necessary services. Budget cuts to these programs threaten comprehensive, coordinated healthcare delivery to persons with disabilities.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is a health service which seeks to restore functioning in those with disabilities, helping them participate in activities such as education, work and family care. Rehabilitation involves treating any underlying health conditions that might exist while also adapting the environment, using assistive products, providing support services and developing self-management abilities in individuals. Rehabilitation forms an integral component of universal healthcare coverage and allows individuals with disabilities to achieve functional independence.
Participants in focus groups discussed barriers to rehabilitation access, such as logistical (distance from services, transport costs), affordability of services and treatments, knowledge gaps regarding disability issues such as stigma and fear as well as quality improvements necessary. Healthcare staff must receive more training on disability to take a holistic approach when caring for disabled patients; it is also crucial that monitoring coverage be done using similar methods (clinic or registry data etc).
