Life expectancy in the United States is decreasing, with chronic disease the leading cause of death and disability; the country’s suicide rates have increased 30% over the last two decades; overdose deaths continue to escalate, including a 94% increase among adolescents in recent years; and disparities in health and access persist across racial and ethnic groups as well as for those in rural areas.
What’s more, patients across the country are increasingly having trouble accessing the very people who consistently help to prevent and address these burdens: primary care.
Today, individuals and families can face major barriers to seeing a primary care clinician, including limited or no practices in their communities; long wait times “of several weeks or more” to be seen; and frequent disruption of coverage due to disenrollments and red tape.
This issue brief below outlines how Medicaid and CHIP can help reduce inequities and improve the health of the nation by expanding access to primary care.
