Over 40 million Americans missed needed health care services due to cost

18.6% of American adults did not receive needed medical care in 2005 because they could not afford it, according to a new report by the CDC. 25 million did not get needed dental care, over 18 million missed needed prescriptions and over 15 million did not get medical care they needed because of cost. 6% of American adults living in poverty did not get needed medical care due to a lack of transportation. Among adults with no chronic conditions, Hispanics were twice as likely not to have a usual source of care as whites. 30% of young adults age 18 to 24 had no usual source of care. One in three children living in poverty did not receive dental care in 2005 compared to less than one in five higher income children.

Posted by Ellen Andrews