Health equity is defined as providing individualized services or goods necessary for optimal health, recognizing that access to health is essential for prosperity. Equal access does not equate to equitable access, which tailors healthcare to individual needs. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that health disparities among some affect the health of all. Addressing health inequities incurs costs that are unsustainable, well over hundreds of billions annually, thus emphasizing the necessity for preventive care over curative interventions to improve individual and community health outcomes.
"The asset of health is among the few, if not only, luxuries we enjoy in life. With access to better health and especially effective healthcare, we can manage life well and provide for ourselves, our families and our communities."
"With health equity, all of us potentially have the opportunity for the most prosperous life and living conditions - that is at the core of our American Dream and should be considered among our most fundamental rights."
"The price we pay for health inequities is not only measured in lives and quality life-years lost but also the economic costs of varied health outcomes, estimated to total hundreds of billions of dollars per year."
"The initial cost outlays to account for the needs of the individual patient pale when juxtaposed with the cost of serious illnesses and chronic care. It is an unwavering truism; prevention is more effective and less costly than cure."
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