No Health Care Even With Insurance

Americans are finding it harder to access health care

Access to medical care has deteriorated sharply among people living in the United States, a survey has found. The proportion of people who report delaying medical care or not getting it at all rose from 14% in 2003 to more than 20% in 2007. Perhaps surprisingly, the decline in access was greater among people with health insurance than among those without it.

The findings are part of the 2007 health tracking household survey, a representative, cross section survey of 18 000 persons interviewed by phone. It was conducted by the Center for Health System Change and released at a news conference in Washington, DC, on 26 June.

Extrapolating from the data suggests that the number of Americans who experienced problems with access to care over the previous 12 months rose from 36 million in 2003 to 59 million in 2007.

by Bob Roehr