More than 40 million people, or roughly one in five adults, have reported they do not have access to the healthcare they need, according to the annual report on the nation's health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and compiled by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The report, titled "Health, United States 2007," is a compilation of more than 150 health tables, and reveals that 20 percent of adults did not receive one or more of the following services, although they needed them because of cost: medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care or eyeglasses. Additional findings include:
- Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 were more likely to lack a primary source of care (30 percent) and to be without health coverage (30 percent).
- One in 10 adults between the ages of 45 and 64 did not have a primary source of care, despite the fact that more than 5 percent suffered from high blood pressure, serious heart conditions, or diabetes.
- One in 10 women between the ages of 45 and 64 with income below the poverty level had to delay medical care because of a lack of transportation.
- Nearly 33 percent of children living below the poverty level did not have a recent dental visit in 2005, compared to less than one-fifth of their peers in high income families.