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New York Value:
Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
New York Rank:
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Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
US Value: 8.8%
Top State(s): Hawaii: 5.3%
Bottom State(s): Texas: 15.9%
Definition: Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost
Data Source and Years: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2021
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.
The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), yet provides fewer resources.
The high cost of health care in the U.S. is one of the major factors in avoiding needed care. Other barriers include inadequate or nonexistent insurance coverage, transportation issues, negative interactions with providers and care teams, delayed access and issues with childcare or work schedules. Lack of access to health care has long been associated with increased preventable hospitalizations and missed opportunities to prevent disease and manage chronic conditions, all of which can lead to worse and more expensive health outcomes. Meanwhile, the cost of health care in the United States is projected to continue increasing through 2030. Currently, the average American spends more than $11,000 a year on health care.
Adults who are uninsured are more likely to have problems paying medical bills compared with adults who have health insurance. Even among insured adults, those enrolled in high-deductible health plans — plans that typically have lower monthly payments, but require beneficiaries to pay more health care costs themselves before insurance starts to pay its share — are nearly twice as likely to delay or entirely forgo care due to cost compared with adults enrolled in traditional health plans.
The prevalence of avoiding care due to cost is higher among:
Multidisciplinary interventions that increase the affordability of health care by preventing disease and reducing out-of-pocket costs may have an impact on reducing the proportion of adults who avoid care due to the cost. Examples include:
Reducing the proportion of adults who delay, avoid or cannot access necessary medical care due to cost is a Healthy People 2030 objective.
“2021 Edition — Health Care Costs 101.” n.d. California Health Care Foundation (blog). Accessed November 9, 2022. https://www.chcf.org/publication/2021-edition-health-care-costs-101/.
“2021 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.” 2021. AHRQ Pub. No. 21(22)-0054-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2021qdr.pdf.
Anderson, Gerard F., Peter Hussey, and Varduhi Petrosyan. 2019. “It’s Still The Prices, Stupid: Why The US Spends So Much On Health Care, And A Tribute To Uwe Reinhardt.” Health Affairs 38 (1): 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05144.
Bazemore, Andrew, Stephen Petterson, Lars E. Peterson, Richard Bruno, Yoonkyung Chung, and Robert L. Phillips. 2018. “Higher Primary Care Physician Continuity Is Associated With Lower Costs and Hospitalizations.” The Annals of Family Medicine 16 (6): 492–97. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2308.
Bertakis, Klea D., and Raham Azari. 2011. “Patient-Centered Care Is Associated with Decreased Health Care Utilization.” The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 24 (3): 229–39. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2011.03.100170.
Cha, Amy E., and Robin A. Cohen. 2020. “Problems Paying Medical Bills, 2018.” NCHS Data Brief No. 357. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db357-h.pdf.
Cohen, Robin A. 2010. “Impact of Type of Insurance Plan on Access and Utilization of Health Care Services for Adults Aged 18-64 Years with Private Health Insurance: United States, 2007-2008.” 28. NCHS Data Brief No. 28. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20167150/.
Cosgrove, Delos M., Michael Fisher, Patricia Gabow, Gary Gottlieb, George C. Halvorson, Brent C. James, Gary S. Kaplan, et al. 2013. “Ten Strategies To Lower Costs, Improve Quality, And Engage Patients: The View From Leading Health System CEOs.” Health Affairs 32 (2): 321–27. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1074.
Pezzin, Liliana E., Hillary R. Bogner, Jibby E. Kurichi, Pui L. Kwong, Joel E. Streim, Dawei Xie, Ling Na, and Sean Hennessy. 2018. “Preventable Hospitalizations, Barriers to Care, and Disability.” Medicine 97 (19). https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000010691.
Tikkanen, Roosa, and Melinda K. Abrams. 2020. “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes?” Commonwealth Fund, January. https://doi.org/10.26099/7AVY-FC29.
Yong, Pierre L., Robert S. Saunders, and LeighAnne Olsen. 2010. The Healthcare Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes: Workshop Series Summary. Institute of Medicine (US) Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12750.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.