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New Report Finds Transportation Barriers to Health Care in the United States
A new report from the American Journal of Public Health sheds light on the number of Americans who delay medical care each year because of lack of available transportation. The report also found that transportation barriers to health care have a disproportionate impact on individuals who have low incomes and those who have chronic conditions. The study documents a significant problem in access to health care during a time of rapidly changing transportation technology.
Transportation Barriers to Health Care in the United States: Findings From the National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2017 notes that, in 2017, 5.8 million persons in the U.S. (1.8%) delayed medical care because they did not have transportation.
The study found that Hispanic people, those living below the poverty threshold, Medicaid recipients, and people with a functional limitation had greater odds of reporting a transportation barrier after we controlled for other sociodemographic and health characteristics.