NQS Priority: Care Affordability
Lack of Usual Source of Care for Financial or Insurance Reasons
People without a usual source of care who indicate a financial or insurance reason for not having a source of care, by race/ethnicity and by insurance among Hispanics, 2002-2012
Left Graph:
| Race/Ethnicity | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 15.6 | 16.3 | 14.8 | 16.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 | 17.6 | 21.1 | 21.2 | 19.9 | 20.2 |
| White | 12.8 | 14.8 | 11.6 | 13.0 | 15.1 | 15.6 | 14.0 | 17.3 | 18.0 | 15.4 | 16.0 |
| Black | 13.1 | 15.8 | 14.8 | 12.9 | 14.8 | 14.3 | 17.0 | 18.6 | 18.7 | 20.0 | 21.6 |
| Hispanic | 23.0 | 19.8 | 22.1 | 23.6 | 24.6 | 27.0 | 27.9 | 33.0 | 30.6 | 29.5 | 30.6 |
Right Graph (Hispanics):
| Insurance | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | 13.1 | 8.5 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 13.4 | 15.3 | 14.6 | 14.2 | 9.5 | 11.2 | 13.3 |
| Public | 20.8 | 20.2 | 17.4 | 25.2 | 26.7 | 30.4 | 24.4 | 27.9 | 22.0 | 18.7 | 25.5 |
| Uninsured | 30.6 | 26.6 | 28.8 | 31.5 | 31.0 | 32.5 | 36.0 | 44.1 | 42.4 | 41.3 | 40.9 |
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.
Denominator: Civilian noninstitutionalized population without a usual source of care.
Note: For this measure, lower rates are better.
- Importance: High-quality health care is facilitated by having a regular provider, but some Americans may not be able to afford one.
- Overall Rate: In 2012, 20.2% of people without a usual source of care indicated a financial or insurance reason for not having a source of care.
- Trends:
- The overall percentage worsened from 2002 to 2010 and then leveled off.
- The percentage worsened among Blacks and Hispanics.
- Groups With Disparities: In all years, the percentage of people without a usual source of care who indicated a financial or insurance reason for not having a source of care was higher:
- Among Hispanics compared with Whites.
- Among uninsured Hispanics compared with privately insured Hispanics.
- Among publicly insured Hispanics compared with privately insured Hispanics (except in 2004).
AHRQ Health Care Innovations in Reducing Costs
- Location: Long Beach, California.
- Intervention: Instituted TeleSalud, a 24-hour bilingual advice line that provides callers with direct access to a registered nurse who can address their health and interpreter needs in their preferred language.
- Outcomes: Significantly increased the number of calls coming from Spanish-speaking members and has helped members to make wiser choices, leading to fewer emergency department visits and significant cost savings.
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