Americans face barriers to accessing primary care services
of the medically disenfranchised are uninsured—insurance alone is not enough
of the medically disenfranchised are children with critical care access needs
The CommonGround Mobile Health Collective exists to bridge the gap between marginalized communities and access to healthcare. According to the NACHC and its February 2023 report, over 100 million Americans face barriers to accessing primary care. The estimated number of Americans who are medically disenfranchised—meaning at risk of lacking access to primary care due to an inadequate supply in their local community—has nearly doubled since 2014.
The medically disenfranchised population is a subset of the medically underserved and includes people of all income levels, locations, ages, races, ethnicities, and insurance status. Only 1 in 10 of the medically disenfranchised population are uninsured, demonstrating that access to a usual source of primary care requires more than having insurance. Many people who have insurance are still unable to access primary care in their community due to a shortage of providers.
Over half of medically disenfranchised individuals have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level. These individuals face additional cost barriers that may prevent them from traveling long distances to access care. Almost a quarter of the medically disenfranchised population are children. Access to primary care for children is critical, yet too many children are not receiving the care they need to grow up to be healthy and productive citizens.
High quality primary health care is the foundation of healthy communities, yet a staggering number of Americans face barriers to accessing preventive and primary care. These barriers—such as lack of insurance, prohibitive costs, lack of transportation, language barriers, provider shortages, and more—often force people to delay care for minor health issues and instead rely on costly emergency room visits when minor issues advance to more serious chronic conditions.
Unmet primary care needs result in greater burdens on medically underserved patients and their communities, leading to worse health outcomes, wider disparities, and increased health care spending over time.