Racial and Ethnic Differences in Entry into the Health Care System

Measure	Racial Difference[1]					Ethnic Difference[2]
	Black	Asian	NHOPI	AI/AN	>1 Race	NHB	Hispanic
Health Insurance Coverage
People, ages <65, with health insurance[3]
People, ages <65, with public health insurance only3
People, ages <65, with any private health insurance3
People, ages 65+, with any private health insurance3
People uninsured all year[4]		4
People with any period of uninsurance during the year4		4
People with any period of public insurance during the year4		4
Usual Source of Care
People who have a specific source of ongoing care3
People in fair or poor health who have a specific source of ongoing care3
People with a hospital, emergency room, or clinic as source of ongoing care3
People with a community health center as source of ongoing care[5]
People without a usual source of care who indicate a financial or insurance reason for not having a source of care4		4
People who have a usual primary care provider4		4
Adults who report very little or no choice in source of care5
Adults who have not had their regular doctor for more than 5 years5

Measure	Racial Difference[6]					Ethnic Difference[7]
	Black	Asian	NHOPI	AI/AN	>1 Race	NHB	Hispanic
Patient Perceptions of Their Care
Families that experience difficulties or delays in obtaining health care or do not receive needed care[8]		3
Families that experience difficulties or delays in obtaining health care due to financial or insurance reasons3		3
Families that did not receive a doctor's care or prescription medications because the family needed the money3		3
Families not very satisfied that they can get health care if they need it3		3
People who can always get appointments for routine care as soon as wanted[9]		4
People who can always get care for illness or injury as soon as wanted4		4

Key to Quality of Health Care Tables : Selected population and comparison population have about the same access to health care : Selected population has better access than the comparison population : Selected population has worse access than the comparison population : Data are collected but do not meet criteria for statistical reliability

[1] Compared with whites.

[2] Compared with non-Hispanic whites.

[3] Source: NHIS, 2000.

[4] Source: MEPS, 1999. This source did not collect information on Asians and NHOPIs separately but in aggregate as Asian or Pacific Islander. This source did not collect information for >1 race.

[5] Source: Commonwealth Fund Health Care Quality Survey, 2001. This source did not collect information for >1 race separately.

[6] Compared with whites.

[7] Compared with non-Hispanic whites.

[8] Source: MEPS, 1999. This source did not collect information on Asians and NHOPIs separately but in aggregate as Asian or Pacific Islander. This source did not collect information for >1 race.

[9] Source: MEPS, 2000. This source did not collect information on Asians and NHOPIs separately but in aggregate as Asian or Pacific Islander. This source did not collect information for >1 race.

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