Poverty & Bleeding Disorders
Poverty is when a person or family experiences a persistent or recurring lack of stable financial resources to provide for their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, & health care) and access basic opportunities for advancement (higher education and better employment).
Those receiving assistance may still be considered as affected by poverty because assistance (esp. Government programs) is typically designed to alleviate deprivation, not to provide a pathway out of disadvantage.
Poverty is a major challenge for the bleeding disorders community because it can negatively impact the health and well-being of those affected in many significant ways, and people with bleeding disorders have a much higher rate of poverty than others.
Defining Poverty
How to define poverty, and who is affected, is a major debate in America. The definition of poverty used by the US Census Bureau (the Federal Poverty Level, or FPL) is:
• An individual who earns $14,580 (2023 level) or less in one year
• A family which earns $30,000 (2023 level) or less in one year
FPL is a useful marker of who is affected by poverty because it is a verifiable measure that many public and private organizations recognize as an indication of who is affected. People at or below the income of the Federal Poverty Level are unlikely to be able to provide for their basic needs in most parts of the country, and will experience many negative impacts on their life as a result.
Some Long Term Negative Impacts Of Living In Poverty
• Children are often cognitively & socially delayed. (Neurons to Neighborhoods study)
• Higher rates of youth & adult physical/mental illness. (Urban Institute)
• Lower health outcomes & life expectancy; up to 10 years less depending on income, race, and where you live. (Brookings Institute)
• Less likely to graduate college; < 25% of the poorest. (Wall Street Journal)
• Less likely to be engaged/vote; < 25% of the poorest. (Pew Research Center)
• 45% of children raised in poverty are likely to be poor at age 35. (Urban Institute)
Poverty impacts in many different ways. The impacts are not always obvious, and those affected may be reluctant to discuss it or ask for help.
How Many People With Bleeding Disorders Are Affected By Poverty
We can estimate how many people with bleeding disorders are affected by poverty using the American Thrombosis & Hemostasis Network (ATHN) studies. ATHN tracks the numbers of patients with Medicaid; to qualify for Medicaid a person must meet the FPL income limit, so people on Medicaid can be reasonably said to live in poverty.
• New England – 28%
• Mid-Atlantic – 26%
• Southeast – 35%
• Great Lakes – 28%
• Northern – 25%
• Great Plains – 35%
• Mountain – 27%
• Western – 25%
For people not affected by bleeding disorders, the average national rate of Medicaid enrollment is 15%.
Who May Be Affected By Poverty
Here we use estimates based on data from the US Census Bureau. This data can tell us, on average, at what rate people in certain demographic groups are affected by poverty.
• 11% of Caucasian Americans, 26.2% of African Americans, 23.6% of Hispanic Americans, and 12% of Asian Americans are affected
• 30.6% of single parent households headed by women, 15.7% of single father families, and 6.2% of married couple families are affected
• Approx. 30% of all children are affected (23.1% of Caucasian Americans, 36% of African American, and 31.9% of Hispanic American)
• 24.2% of all foreign born non-citizens are affected
SOURCE: University of Michigan National Poverty Center
Please remember these are the average rate at which certain groups are affected by poverty. The largest number of people in America affected by poverty are Caucasians because Caucasians are the largest ethnic group in America. The rates at which different groups are affected may also be different depending on what part of the country they live in, and whether they live in rural or urban areas.
How Can We Help People Affected By Poverty
The first way to help people affected by poverty is to develop a better understanding of who is affected, and the different impacts it can have on their life.
60% of Americans between 20 and 75 will experience poverty for at least 1 year
76% of Americans will have experienced near poverty by the time they reach 75
40% of children will experience poverty/near poverty by 18
40% of older adults will experience poverty/near poverty between 60-90
It is very likely that you, or someone you know has experienced or is now living in poverty!