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Chartbook on Access to Health Care

Services

  • People with a usual source of care have better health outcomes and fewer disparities and costs (Healthy People 2020). 
  • Having a usual place of care and a usual provider are associated with an increased likelihood of receiving preventive services and recommended screenings compared with having no usual source of care (Blewett, et al., 2008).

Services Measures 

  • People with a usual place to go for medical care, by age, January-June 2014. 
  • Age-sex adjusted percentage of people of all ages with a usual place to go for medical care, by race/ethnicity, 2013 and January-June 2014. 
  • People who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines in the last 12 months, by insurance (under age 65) and age, 2002-2012. 
  • People who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines in the last 12 months, by perceived health status and ethnicity, 2003-2012.

People With a Usual Source of Care

People of all ages with a usual place to go for medical care, by age, January-June 2014 

Bar graph shows percentage of people with a usual place to go for medical care by age group and sex. Go to table below for details.

Age Group Total Male Female
All Ages 87.6 84.4 90.7
<18 96.5 96.2 96.7
18-24 75.1 70.6 79.5
25-44 77.8 71 84.3
45-64 89.3 86.3 92.1
65+ 96.6 95.9 97.1



Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, January-June 2014, combined Sample Adult and Sample Child Core.

Note: Data only available for 2014 quarters 1 and 2.

Groups With Disparities:

  • From January to June 2014, adults ages 18-24 were the least likely to have a usual place to go for medical care. Children under age 18 were more likely than adults ages 18-24, 25-44, and 45-64 to have a usual place to go for medical care. 
  • For all ages combined, as well as age groups 18-24, 25-44, and 45-64, females were more likely than males to have a usual place to go for medical care.
  • Among those age 18 and over, the percentage of people with a usual place to go for medical care increased (data not shown).

Adjusted Percentage of People With a Usual Source of Care

Age-sex adjusted percentage of people of all ages with a usual place to go for medical care, by race/ethnicity, 2013 and January-June 2014

Bar graph shows percentage of people with a usual place to go for medical care by race/ethnicity. Go to table below for details.

Race / Ethnicity 2013 January-June 2014
White 88.3 89.3
Black 85 86.5
Hispanic 79 82.2

 

Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2013 and January-June 2014, Combined Sample Adult and Sample Child Core Component.

Note: White and Black are non-Hispanic. Hispanic includes all races. Data only available for 2014 quarters 1 and 2. 

Groups With Disparities:

  • For January to June 2014, after adjustment for age and sex, the percentage of people with a usual place to go for medical care was 82.2% for Hispanics, 89.3% for Whites, and 86.5% for Blacks.  

Trends in Problems or Delays in Getting Needed Care

People who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines in the last 12 months, by insurance (under age 65) and age, 2002-2012

Left Chart: Line graph showing percentage of people having difficulty getting medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. From 2002 to 2012, the overall percentage was between 10% and 11.7%, with the most recent percentage 10.5%. For people with private insurance, the percentage ranged from 7.7% to 10%, with the most recent percentage 8.2%. For people with public insurance, the percentage ranged from 12% to 14.5%, with the most recent percentage 12.7%. For uninsured people, the percentage ranged from 17.2% to 20.6%, with the most recent percentage 18.7%. Right Chart: Line graph showing percentage of people having difficulty getting medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. From 2002 to 2012, the percentage for children ages 0-17 was between 3.5% and 6.6%, with the most recent percentage 4.3%. For adults ages 18-44, the percentage ranged from 11.5% to 13.5%, with the most recent percentage 11.9%. For adults ages 45-64, the percentage ranged from 12.7% to 15.2%, with the most recent percentage 14.8%. For adults age 65 and over, the percentage ranged from 8.6% to 10.6%, with the most recent percentage 9.6%.

Data Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.

Note: For this measure, lower rates are better.

Groups With Disparities:

  • In all years, for people under age 65, uninsured people and people with public insurance were significantly more likely than people with private insurance to be unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. 
  • In 2012, the percentage of people who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines was significantly higher for people with no health insurance (18.7%) than for people with private insurance (8.4%). 
  • In all years, adults ages 45-64 were more likely than adults age 65 and over, adults ages 18-44, and children ages 0-17 to be unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines.

Trends in Disparities in Getting Needed Care

People who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines in the last 12 months, by perceived health status and ethnicity, 2003-2012 

Left Chart: Line graph showing percentage of people having difficulty getting medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. From 2003 to 2012, for people in excellent, very good, or good health, the percentage ranged from 8.4% to 10%, with the most recent percentage 8.7%. For people in fair or poor health, the percentage ranged from 23.4% to 27.2%, with the most recent percentage 25.8%. Right Chart: Line graph showing percentage of people having difficulty getting medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. From 2003 to 2012, the percentage for Whites was between 10.6% and 12.3%, with the most recent percentage 11.3%. For Blacks, the percentage ranged from 9.2% to 12.2%, with the most recent percentage 11.6%. For Hispanics, the percentage ranged from 7.4% to 9.7%, with the most recent percentage 7.4%.

Data Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2003-2012.

Note: White and Black are non-Hispanic. Hispanic includes all races.

Groups With Disparities:

  • From 2003 to 2012, people whose perceived health status was fair or poor were significantly more likely to be unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. 
  • From 2008 to 2012, Blacks saw an increase (from 9.2% to 11.6%) in the percentage of people who were unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. 
  • From 2003 to 2012, Hispanics were less likely than Whites to be unable to get or delayed in getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines.

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Page last reviewed April 2015
Page originally created April 2015

The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.

 
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