One of the most widespread and pervasive social problems in the United States today is the provision of equal access to health care for the poor. Too many people live in poverty and struggle to find the means to satisfy their basic needs. For those without insurance, access to medical care is often hindered by other needs. An unexpected medical expense can push this group further into poverty. Those who have insurance may find themselves underinsured in the event of an emergency and unable to make the necessary copayments. Alternatively, your provider may refuse to cover certain conditions. In addition to the cost of adequate insurance and the skyrocketing cost of medical care, there are other factors that influence equal access to medical care for the poor. These include race, age, and geographic location. Poverty and resulting inadequate medical care is a ubiquitous social problem that merits further discussion of the causes and implications of the problem. Racial disparities in health status have received increasing attention in recent years. The relationship between race, poverty and health is complex. Something to consider is that people suffering from mental illness and members of racial minorities are disproportionately concentrated in high-poverty areas. (Chun-Chung Chow). Disparities in health status in these areas are believed to reflect a lack of access to care due to an absence of insurance coverage, a tendency to attribute certain health problems to religious and culturally sanctioned belief systems, and a shortage of providers culturally compatible healthcare. (Chun-Chung Chow) Due to less access to medical care, blacks and Hispanics... at the center of the paper... family status of individuals. For example, poor blacks have a low level of psychological well-being in urban areas and a high level of well-being in rural areas. The opposite is true for whites. The location and distribution of whites in urban environments tend to be more dispersed than those of blacks. This leads to poor whites being less likely to experience the problems found in inner-city neighborhoods characterized by substandard housing, substandard schools, and high crime rates. Black people living in rural areas, while somewhat troubled, likely experience less stress in daily life than their urban counterparts. Although poverty is typically associated with lower overall well-being, its implications do not appear to be distributed by location, also demonstrating that poverty is not a homogeneous experience for individuals.