People in Medically Underserved Areas
In the United States, nearly 12% of people live in a "medically underserved area" ("MUA"), an area with reduced access to primary care physicians. (1) For some, access is reduced due to residence in a remote location, while for others it is due to the low number of primary care physicians in a non-remote area. One in five Americans have inadequate or no access to a primary care physician. (2) The lack of accessible health care services is particularly acute for poor and low-income people, who do not have the financial resources to travel to find health care and are often not accepted by physicians due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates. (3)
What percentage of people live in "medically underserved areas"?
Although state data regarding the percentage of women who live in underserved areas are not available, the state data for men and women overall are a useful proxy to assess women's access to primary care. No benchmark is available for this indicator, so it is ranked, not graded.
Data Source: People in Medically Underserved Areas (%), 2005
EXPLANATION:
The term "underserved" was developed by the Division of Shortage Designation within the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, and indicates a population-to-practitioner ratio of greater than 2,000:1. The measure applies to both women and men, and assumes that in states where there are fewer practicing primary care physicians, there is reduced access to primary care services. "Practitioner" or "primary care physician" here means all allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) practitioners who provide primary care services, and does not focus on their discipline or specialty. The measure is calculated based on Bureau of Primary Health Care data adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Estimates.
SOURCE:
AARP, State Profiles: Reforming the Health Care System 2005 (Washington: AARP, 2005). The national figure calculated by AARP Public Policy Institute includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
| ALABAMA |
25.8% |
|
49 |
| ALASKA |
14.0% |
|
34 |
| ARIZONA |
13.5% |
|
31 |
| ARKANSAS |
10.1% |
|
22 |
| CALIFORNIA |
10.0% |
|
20 |
| COLORADO |
10.2% |
|
23 |
| CONNECTICUT |
6.3% |
|
7 |
| DELAWARE |
8.0% |
|
16 |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |
24.8% |
|
48 |
| FLORIDA |
15.7% |
|
40 |
| GEORGIA |
15.1% |
|
37 |
| HAWAII |
4.4% |
|
3 |
| IDAHO |
18.1% |
|
41 |
| ILLINOIS |
13.2% |
|
30 |
| INDIANA |
8.7% |
|
17 |
| IOWA |
9.4% |
|
19 |
| KANSAS |
15.3% |
|
38 |
| KENTUCKY |
13.5% |
|
31 |
| LOUISIANA |
21.1% |
|
44 |
| MAINE |
7.3% |
|
12 |
| MARYLAND |
6.5% |
|
9 |
| MASSACHUSETTS |
5.1% |
|
4 |
| MICHIGAN |
11.0% |
|
25 |
| MINNESOTA |
7.6% |
|
13 |
| MISSISSIPPI |
29.3% |
|
51 |
| MISSOURI |
23.7% |
|
46 |
| MONTANA |
20.4% |
|
42 |
| NEBRASKA |
5.7% |
|
5 |
| NEVADA |
14.1% |
|
35 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE |
5.9% |
|
6 |
| NEW JERSEY |
2.8% |
|
1 |
| NEW MEXICO |
27.6% |
|
50 |
| NEW YORK |
10.0% |
|
20 |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
7.8% |
|
15 |
| NORTH DAKOTA |
20.8% |
|
43 |
| OHIO |
7.2% |
|
11 |
| OKLAHOMA |
15.6% |
|
39 |
| OREGON |
6.9% |
|
10 |
| PENNSYLVANIA |
6.3% |
|
7 |
| RHODE ISLAND |
8.7% |
|
17 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA |
15.0% |
|
36 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA |
24.6% |
|
47 |
| TENNESSEE |
11.6% |
|
27 |
| TEXAS |
12.7% |
|
28 |
| UTAH |
12.8% |
|
29 |
| VERMONT |
3.6% |
|
2 |
| VIRGINIA |
7.6% |
|
13 |
| WASHINGTON |
11.3% |
|
26 |
| WEST VIRGINIA |
13.8% |
|
33 |
| WISCONSIN |
10.4% |
|
24 |
| WYOMING |
22.8% |
|
45 |
| |
| S (Satisfactory): |
0 |
|
| S- (Satisfactory Minus): |
0 |
|
| U (Unsatisfactory): |
0 |
|
| F (Fail): |
0 |
|