Even Insured Americans Struggle to Find Timely Medical Care
A recent column highlights that many people with health coverage in the United States cannot secure prompt appointments, revealing a systemic access problem beyond insurance costs.
The piece describes how a friend, a recent legal immigrant with national-provider insurance, faced weeks of delay before a doctor could treat her severe shingles, illustrating broader gaps in the U.S. system. CDC figures indicate that a significant portion of insured adults failed to obtain timely care due to provider shortages, work constraints, insurance mismatches, or distance, especially in rural areas. The author compares these hurdles to Canada’s universal system, where a sizable percentage of adults lack a regular family doctor and experience long specialist wait times.
Denmark’s model is presented as a hybrid, offering universal care while allowing private insurance to speed up access for about half the population. Common drivers across the three nations include growing demand, an aging populace, and insufficient numbers of primary-care physicians, compounded in the U.S. by residency funding caps and higher malpractice pressures.
Why it matters
Limited access to doctors leaves many insured people without needed treatment, affecting public health and economic productivity.
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