20 percent of Americans unable to pay for health care

“Health, United States, 2007,” a report released earlier this month by the CDC, is the compilation of more than 150 health tables prepared by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

In a special section focused on access to care, nearly 20 percent of adults reported that they needed and did not receive one or more of these services in the past year because they couldn’t afford them: medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care or eyeglasses.

“There has been important progress made in many areas of health such as increased life expectancy and decreases in deaths from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director, in a news release. “But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement.”

In 2005, nearly one in 10 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get necessary prescription drugs during the past 12 months due to cost. At that time, nearly 10 percent said they delayed receiving needed medical care. This report did not study the relationship between access to health care services and health outcomes.

Among other findings in the report:

• Young adults 18 to 24 years of age were more likely than children or older adults to lack a usual source of care and to be uninsured. About 30 percent of these young adults did not have a usual source of health care, and an equal percentage were uninsured.

• One in 10 adults ages 45 to 64 years did not have a usual source of health care, and more than 5 percent of adults in this age group who had diagnosed high blood pressure, serious heart conditions or diabetes reported not having a usual source of medical care.

• In 2005, one out of five people under the age of 65 reported being uninsured for at least part of the 12 months prior to being interviewed. The majority of this group reported being uninsured for more than 12 months.

The report features data on virtually every health topic from all stages of life, and does show a number of important gains:

• In 2006, 87 percent of children age 19 months to 35 months received three or more doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, an increase from 41 percent in 2002.

• Between 2001 and 2004, the age-adjusted percentage of adults with high blood cholesterol was 17 percent, down from 21 percent in 1988–94.