Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Barriers to Timely Medical Care Among US Adults, 1999 to 2018

ABSTRACT Background Racial and ethnic disparities in delayed medical care due to reasons not related to cost of care remain understudied. We aimed to describe recent 20-year trends in such disparities. Methods The study used data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1999–2018 and included individuals ≥18 years of age. Respondents were categorized by their sex, income, and self-reported race and ethnicity. The main outcomes were trends in disparities in any of 5 specific barriers to timely medical care: inability to get through by phone, no appointment available soon enough, long waiting times, inconvenient doctor’s office/clinic hours, or lack of transportation. Results The study included 590,603 adults (mean age 46.0 SE, 0.07 years; 51.9% female). Of these, 4.7% were Asian, 11.8% Black, 13.8% Latino/Hispanic, and 69.7% White. In 1999, the proportion reporting any of the barriers to timely medical care was 7.3% among Asian, 6.9% among Black, 7.9% among Latino/Hispanic, and 7.0% among White individuals (P >0.05 for each difference with White individuals). From 1999 to 2018, this proportion increased across all 4 race/ethnicity groups (P<0.001 for each), slightly increasing the disparities between groups. In 2018, compared with White individuals, the proportion reporting any barrier was 2.1 and 3.1 percentage points higher among Black and Latino/Hispanic individuals (P=0.03 and P=0.001, respectively). The racial/ethnic disparities increased mostly among males and were attenuated when stratified by income level. Conclusions From 1999 to 2018, barriers to timely medical care increased for all populations with increasing disparities between racial/ethnic groups.