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Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+ in California
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California Value:

92.8%

Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported having a personal doctor or health care provider

California Rank:

45

Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+ in depth:

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Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+ by State

Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported having a personal doctor or health care provider

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Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+ in

Data from CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022

>= 96.5%

95.5% - 96.4%

95.0% - 95.4%

94.0% - 94.9%

<= 93.9%

• Data Unavailable
Top StatesRankValue
Bottom StatesRankValue
4792.2%
4890.8%
4990.3%
5089.9%

Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+

197.5%
397.2%
497.1%
696.7%
896.6%
996.5%
996.5%
1396.3%
1496.1%
1696.0%
1795.8%
1895.6%
1895.6%
2095.5%
2195.3%
2195.3%
2395.2%
2395.2%
2395.2%
2395.2%
2795.1%
2895.0%
2895.0%
2895.0%
3194.9%
3194.9%
3194.9%
3694.3%
3994.0%
4193.7%
4293.2%
4293.2%
4493.1%
4592.8%
4592.8%
4792.2%
4890.8%
4990.3%
5089.9%
Data Unavailable
Source:
  • CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022

Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+ Trends

Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported having a personal doctor or health care provider

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About Dedicated Health Care Provider - Age 65+

US Value: 94.8%

Top State(s): Alabama: 97.5%

Bottom State(s): Alaska: 89.9%

Definition: Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported having a personal doctor or health care provider

Data Source and Years(s): CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022

Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.

Individuals with a dedicated health care provider are better positioned to receive care that can prevent, detect and manage health conditions. Having a regular health care provider helps patients and providers build stable, long-term relationships that are associated with several benefits, including:

Older adults face several obstacles to obtaining the care they need, including transitioning from employer-sponsored health care to Medicare, traveling long distances (especially for those in rural areas) and high out-of-pocket costs.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the percentage of older adults with a dedicated health care provider is higher among: 

  • Women compared with men.
  • Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, white and multiracial adults compared with Hispanic adults.
  • Those with higher levels of education compared with those with less than a high school education.
  • Those with higher levels of income compared with those with an annual household income less than $25,000.
  • Straight adults compared with LGBQ+ adults.

Strategies for increasing the prevalence of adults with a dedicated health care provider include:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provides a list of Medicare-enrolled physicians and health care professionals by region that can be used to find local providers.

Increasing the proportion of individuals of all ages with a usual primary care provider is a Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator.

Blewett, Lynn A., Pamela Jo Johnson, Brian Lee, and Peter B. Scal. “When a Usual Source of Care and Usual Provider Matter: Adult Prevention and Screening Services.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 23, no. 9 (May 28, 2008): 1354–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0659-0.

Bodenheimer, Thomas S., and Mark D. Smith. “Primary Care: Proposed Solutions To The Physician Shortage Without Training More Physicians.” Health Affairs 32, no. 11 (November 1, 2013): 1881–86. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0234.

Douthit, Nathan T., Sakal Kiv, Tzvi Dwolatzky, and Seema Biswas. “Exposing Some Important Barriers to Health Care Access in the Rural USA.” Public Health 129, no. 6 (2015): 611–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2015.04.001.

Friedberg, Mark W., Peter S. Hussey, and Eric C. Schneider. “Primary Care: A Critical Review Of The Evidence On Quality And Costs Of Health Care.” Health Affairs 29, no. 5 (May 1, 2010): 766–72. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0025.

Garfield, Rachel, and Kendal Orgera. “The Uninsured and the ACA: A Primer — Key Facts about Health Insurance and the Uninsured amidst Changes to the Affordable Care Act.” KFF, January 2019. https://files.kff.org/attachment/The-Uninsured-and-the-ACA-A-Primer-Key-Facts-about-Health-Insurance-and-the-Uninsured-amidst-Changes-to-the-Affordable-Care-Act.

Lester, Paula E., T. S. Dharmarajan, and Eleanor Weinstein. “The Looming Geriatrician Shortage: Ramifications and Solutions.” Journal of Aging and Health 32, no. 9 (October 2020): 1052–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264319879325.

Ponce, Ninez A., Leighton Ku, William E. Cunningham, and E. Richard Brown. “Language Barriers to Health Care Access among Medicare Beneficiaries.” Inquiry: A Journal of Medical Care Organization, Provision and Financing 43, no. 1 (2006): 66–76. https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_43.1.66.

Rust, George, Jiali Ye, Peter Baltrus, Elvan Daniels, Bamidele Adesunloye, and George Edward Fryer. “Practical Barriers to Timely Primary Care Access: Impact on Adult Use of Emergency Department Services.” Archives of Internal Medicine 168, no. 15 (August 11, 2008): 1705–10. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.168.15.1705.

Spatz, Erica S., Joseph S. Ross, Mayur M. Desai, Maureen E. Canavan, and Harlan M. Krumholz. “Beyond Insurance Coverage: Usual Source of Care in the Treatment of Hypertension and Hypercholesterolemia. Data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” American Heart Journal 160, no. 1 (July 2010): 115–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.04.013.

Winters, Paul, Daniel Tancredi, and Kevin Fiscella. “The Role of Usual Source of Care in Cholesterol Treatment.” The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 23, no. 2 (March 1, 2010): 179–85. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2010.02.090084.

Wolinsky, Fredric D., Suzanne E. Bentler, Li Liu, John F. Geweke, Elizabeth A. Cook, Maksym Obrizan, Elizabeth A. Chrischilles, et al. “Continuity of Care with a Primary Care Physician and Mortality in Older Adults.” The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 65A, no. 4 (April 1, 2010): 421–28. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glp188.

Xue, Ying, Zhiqiu Ye, Carol Brewer, and Joanne Spetz. “Impact of State Nurse Practitioner Scope-of-Practice Regulation on Health Care Delivery: Systematic Review.” Nursing Outlook 64, no. 1 (January 2016): 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2015.08.005.

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