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2

Step 1: Select One Topic

Choose  one of the following healthcare access problems:

· Lack of health insurance

· Rural hospital closures

· Unequal access to mental health services

· Emergency department overuse for nonemergency care

· OR another access issue  approved by the professor

Step 2: Paper Structure & Required Sections

1. Introduction (1 pages)

· Introduce the healthcare access issue and its importance.

· Identify the population(s) most affected.

· State your thesis—that is, what sociological explanation you will argue.

2. Background & Scope of the Problem (1 pages)

· Describe the issue using recent data (incidence, prevalence, trends).

· Discuss who is affected (race, class, gender, geography, age).

· Use at least one statistic from a reputable source (CDC, HRSA, CMS, AHRQ, peer-reviewed literature).

· Integrate relevant sections from Barkan (2023) on healthcare structure, inequality, or access.

3. Sociological Frameworks & Concepts (2 pages)

Apply  at least four sociological frameworks from the course.

Options include the following:

· Structural inequality

· Social stratification

· Conflict theory

· Symbolic interactionism

· Social determinants of health

· Medicalization

· Fundamental cause theory

· Structural functionalism

Explain the following:

· Why the problem exists sociologically

· How structures, institutions, and power maintain the inequality

· How Barkan frames inequality in the U.S. healthcare system

4. Contributing Factors (1 pages)

Analyze factors that shape access barriers, such as the following:

· Economic factors

· Race and ethnicity

· Geography (e.g., the rural–urban divide)

· Insurance design

· Provider shortages

· Social stigma (especially for mental health)

· Political and institutional factors

This section should link the problem to broader patterns of inequality in American society.

5. Policy Analysis & Policy Solutions (1 pages)

Required Section

You must analyze  at least two existing policies and propose  one evidence-based recommendation.

E. Current Policy Landscape

Describe relevant current policies (federal, state, or organizational)—for example:

1. Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions

1. Medicaid expansion

1. HRSA rural hospital programs

1. Mental health parity laws

1. EMTALA

1. Telehealth expansion policies

Discuss the following:

1. What each policy was designed to do

1. Who benefits and who is left out

1. Where policy gaps remain

E. Proposed Policy Recommendation

2. Present one realistic, research-supported policy solution.

2. Use evidence from research to justify why it would reduce inequality.

2. Connect the recommendation to sociological concepts (e.g., addressing structural barriers).

6. Conclusion (0.5 page)

Summarize the following:

· The sociological explanation of the issue

· Key findings

· Why addressing the issue matters for reducing health inequality in the U.S.

No new information should be added here.