Access to Health Care

The issues of health care access have been gaining public attention as the costs of health care and health insurance have been increasing. Nearly 47 million Americans, about 18% of the population, do not have insurance and another 16 million people are underinsured, which means their health insurance provides limited coverage and they are at risk of financial hardship due to unexpected medical bills. Underinsured Americans are almost as likely as uninsured Americans to not receive needed medical care and have difficulty paying for medical care.

This issue is very real for New York City. One in six New Yorkers are presently uninsured, and more than one in five lack a regular health care provider. Private funding through the Fund for Public Health in New York (FPHNY) allowed the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct and analyze research on two important obstacles to not having access to health care: not having insurance and not having a regular health care provider. The results of this study were reported in "Health Care Access Among Adults in New York City," released in May 2007.

There are many complex factors which contribute to problems with accessing health care. Understanding the associations between having insurance, having a regular provider, and utilizing health care services can help identify groups and obstacles that would benefit most from targeted outreach, interventions, and policy.

Key Findings from the report:

• Unemployed adults are more likely than employed adults to be uninsured (26% vs. 18%), but about two thirds of uninsured New Yorkers are employed (approximately 708,000 of the 1 million uninsured). • Compared to insured adults, the uninsured are about 4 times more likely to not seek medical care for a health problem due to cost (41% vs. 11%) and about twice as likely to not fill prescriptions (24% vs. 14%). • Disparities exist regarding has insurance and a regular provider. Hispanics, men, younger adults, people with low income, and residents of the South Bronx, South Brooklyn, and West Queens are more likely than other New Yorkers to lack insurance and a regular provider.

Click here to download a copy of the full report.