Access to Primary Care in the United States is not Equal
Access to care in the U.S. is not equal, and this is now obvious to most people in the U.S., simply because of the constant barrage of news about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA aims to extend insurance coverage to all Americans (except undocumented ones) to enable access to care. However, according to Singh & Shi in their book, “Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System“, in 2009:
- 9.5% of insured Americans delayed or did not get medical care because of cost
- 10.8% of insured Americans delayed or did not get dental care because of cost, and
- 7% of insured Americans delayed or did not get a prescription drug because of cost.
Given these are estimates for insured Americans in 2009, it is believable that this situation has gotten a lot worse by now. Other statistics from Chapter 7 of Shi & Singh’s book are depicted in the following video.
Watch our Video on how Big Pharma Makes Sure American Get Their Drugs
Big Pharma "Assists" with Drug Money
Click here to check out our Pinterest board with other infographics on U.S. health care!
Updated March 2, 2015.
