1 in 5 Americans Lack Usual Source of Medical Care; Hispanics Cite High Costs

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Roughly 60 million people—1 in 5 Americans—have no usual source of medical care, such as a family doctor, and Hispanics were more likely to say that high cost is a reason, according to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Most who reported not having a usual source of care said the main reason was because they seldom or never got sick. An analysis of reasons differed in these ways:

• Hispanics were more likely to say high cost was the main reason why they didn’t have a usual source of care (22%), compared to 12% of non-Hispanic groups.
• Blacks were most likely to report that they didn’t have a usual source of care because they seldom or never got sick (69%) as compared to Hispanics (62%) and whites (61%).
• Asians were most likely to report that not liking or trusting doctors as their main reason for not having usual a source of care (12% vs. 4% for other groups as a whole).

For more information, visit Main Reason for Not Having a Usual Source of Care: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Income, and Insurance Status, 2007.