Barriers to medical care among adult blacks: what happens to the uninsured?

This article examines perceived barriers to the utilization of medical care among the uninsured in a national sample of adult (18 years and older) black Americans. Uninsured respondents were more likely to feel that it was difficult for them to receive medical care, and that they needed more care than they were obtaining. The uninsured in comparison with insured respondents were less likely to utilize private, office-based physicians. Insurance coverage, however, made no difference in hospital emergency room use for health care. The results suggest that the lack of health insurance places large numbers of blacks at a severe disadvantage in obtaining needed health care.