Unmet Need for Health Care

The content on this page was last updated in June 2023. More recent estimates and visualizations may be available from the NCHS Data Query System.

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Access to health care refers to the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes (1). People may encounter financial and nonfinancial barriers that reduce their access to needed health care. Delayed or failure to receive needed care may result in poorer health outcomes.

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Delay or nonreceipt of needed medical care due to cost

Trend: 2009–2018, 2019

Sparkline: This is a line graph showing the percentage of people who delayed or did not receive needed medical care due to cost during the past 12 months for 2009 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

The percentage of people of all ages who delayed or did not receive needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months decreased from 11.4% in 2009 to 7.2% in 2016, and then increased to 8.3% in 2018. In 2019, 8.5% of people delayed or did not receive needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months. See Featured Charts for additional analyses and Notes for more information about analyzing trends using NHIS data.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. See Sources and Definitions, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Health, United States, 2020–2021 Table UnmtNd.

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

Nonreceipt of needed prescription drugs due to cost

Trend: 2009–2018, 2019

Sparkline: This is a line graph showing the percentage of people who did not receive needed prescription drugs due to cost during the past 12 months for 2009 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

The percentage of people of all ages who did not receive needed prescription drugs due to cost in the past 12 months decreased from 8.4% in 2009 to 5.2% in 2015, and then did not change significantly through 2018 (5.3%). In 2019, 5.6% of people did not receive needed prescription drugs due to cost in the past 12 months.

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

Nonreceipt of needed dental care due to cost

Trend: 2009–2018, 2019

Sparkline: This is a line graph showing the percentage of people aged 2 and over who did not receive needed dental care due to cost during the past 12 months for 2009 through 2018 (line) and at 2019 (point).

The percentage of people aged 2 years and over who did not receive needed dental care in the past 12 months due to cost decreased from 13.3% in 2009 to 8.9% in 2016, and then increased to 9.9% in 2018. In 2019, 14.7% of people aged 2 and over did not receive needed dental care due to cost in the past 12 months. See Featured Charts for additional analyses and Notes for more information about analyzing trends using NHIS data.

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
For information on the methods used to assess trends, see Sources and Definitions, Statistical testing.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

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In 2019, unmet need for medical care due to cost in the past year was higher among adults who were non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic than among those who were non-Hispanic White.

Figure 1 is a bar graph showing the percentage of adults aged 18–64 who delayed or did not receive needed medical care due to cost during the past 12 months, by race and Hispanic origin for 2019.

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In 2019, 12.1% of adults aged 18–64 delayed or did not receive needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months.
The percentage of adults aged 18–64 who delayed or did not receive medical care due to cost was higher among Hispanic (15.6%) and non-Hispanic Black (14.4%) adults than among non-Hispanic White adults (11.2%).

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
Estimates are presented according to the 1997 Office of Management and Budget’s “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” and are for people who reported only one racial group. See Sources and Definitions, Race.
Data on race and Hispanic origin are presented in the greatest detail possible considering the quality of the data, the amount of missing data, and the number of observations. This affects the availability of reportable data for populations such as the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and the American Indian or Alaska Native populations. Statements about findings refer to the data presented in the figure.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

Unmet need for dental care due to cost is most common among adults living below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Figure 2 is a bar graph showing the percentage of adults aged 18–64 who did not receive needed dental care due to cost during the past 12 months by percentage of federal poverty level for 2019.

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In 2019, 18.6% of adults aged 18–64 did not receive needed dental care due to cost in the past 12 months.
The percentage of adults who did not receive needed dental care due to cost was highest for adults living below 100% of FPL (30.7%) and at 100%–199% of FPL (30.6%), followed by those living at 200%–399% of FPL (20.3%) and then those living at 400% or more of FPL (8.2%).

Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population. See Sources and Definitions, Population.
In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned, and other changes were made to weighting and design methodology. Data for 2019 have not been fully evaluated for comparability with earlier years; therefore, trends through 2019 are not shown. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign and evaluation of the redesign on selected indicators, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.

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Delay or nonreceipt of needed medical care, nonreceipt of needed prescription drugs, and nonreceipt of needed dental care during the past 12 months due to cost, by selected characteristics: United States, selected years 1997–2019

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.

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Definitions

Delay or nonreceipt of needed medical care: Based on questions about whether there was any time during the past 12 months when the respondent needed medical care but delayed or did not get it because of the cost. See Sources and Definitions, Unmet need.
Hispanic origin: People of Hispanic origin may be of any race. See Sources and Definitions, Hispanic origin.
Nonreceipt of needed dental care: Based on questions about whether there was any time during the past 12 months when the respondent needed dental care but did not get it because of the cost. Estimates are for people aged 2 years and over. See Sources and Definitions, Unmet need.
Nonreceipt of needed prescription drugs: Based on questions about whether there was any time during the past 12 months when the respondent needed prescription medicine but did not get it because of the cost. See Sources and Definitions, Unmet need.
Poverty level: Based on family income, size, and composition using U.S. Census Bureau poverty thresholds. Missing family income data are imputed. See Sources and Definitions, Family income; Poverty.
Race: Estimates are presented according to the 1997 Office of Management and Budget’s “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” and are for people who reported only one racial group. See Sources and Definitions, Race.

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Reference

Institute of Medicine. Access to health care in America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 1993.

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