Featured in a recent New York Times article entitled “Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight,” the city of McAllen, Texas touts the nation’s highest price tag for health care. But a high cost doesn’t necessarily guarantee high quality – The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which uses only a third of the financial resources McAllen consumes, produces far better outcomes at a much more reasonable rate. But, while Washington debates regional disparities of health care, inequalities even more prominent than that of a medically over-indulgent city continue to persist indefinitely: those pertaining to healthcare access for the underserved.

In order to decrease health problems among the underserved, increased affordable health care for high-risk patients, and lower hospital bills around the globe, and reform, according to the article, is needed not only when dealing with high-cost medical procedures, but also at the basic level of annual checkups and routine care for those who may have limited access to care.

Associations such as the American Public Health Association have led endeavors aiming to close the health care access gap. Through their efforts, change is slowing emerging, as much of the above information came from a report released by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius entitled Health Disparities: A Case for Closing the Gap. Funds are also being made available for non-profits, universities, and other entities working toward eliminating health disparities under the stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (visit grants.gov, grants search keyword: ARRA). Further, according to the President’s 2010 Budget plan demonstrates that a $635 billion deficit-neutral reserve fund is to be set aside over 10 years to “bring down health care costs, expand coverage, and improve quality.” (More information found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fy2010_key_healthcare/)