Reasons for disparities in access to health care are many, but can include the following:
- Lack of financial resources. Although the lack of financial resources is a barrier to health care access for many proples, the impact on access appears to be greater for minority populations.
- Legal barriers. Access to medical care by low-income immigrant minorities can be hindered by legal barriers to public insurance programs.
- Structural barriers. These barriers include poor transportation, an inability to schedule appointments quickly or during convenient hours, and excessive time spent in the waiting room.
- The health care financing system. The Institute of Medicine in the United States says fragmentation of the U.S. health care delivery and financing system is a barrier to accessing care.
- Scarcity of providers. In inner cities, rural areas, and communities with high concentrations of minority populations, access to medical care can be limited due to the scarcity of primary care practitioners, specialists, and diagnostic facilities.
- Lack of diversity in the health care workforce. A major reason for disparities in access to care are the cultural differences between predominantly white health care providers and minority patients.
- Lack of insurance coverage. Without health insurance, patients are more likely to postpone medical care, more likely to go without needed medical care, and more likely to go without prescription medicines.
- Lack of a regular source of care. Without access to a regular source of care, patients have greater difficulty obtaining care, fewer doctor visits, and more difficulty obtaining prescription drugs.
- Linguistic barriers. Language differences restrict access to medical care for minorities in foreign states.
- Health literacy. This is where patients have problems obtaining, processing, and understanding basic health information.
