From Axios:
For the decade-ish that I've been reporting on health care, insurance coverage has dominated conversations about who has access to care. But in the post-pandemic era, it's become clear that having insurance is only the first step toward receiving quality care.
Why it matters:
Where Americans live, their health status and a range of socioeconomic factors increasingly determine their experience with the health care system, and in many cases that experience appears to be getting worse.
Affordability, while critical, isn't synonymous with access. Long wait times for doctor appointments, crowded emergency departments, complicated insurance requirements and a dearth of local providers are all making things tougher on patients.
For many people, whether they can get the care they need when they need it seems to come down to the luck of the draw.
State of play:
Provider shortages and a post-pandemic surge in demand for care have played a large role in today's squeeze.
That's being felt all along the care continuum, whether you're trying to schedule an annual physical or waiting in the ER.
"All the noise that we're hearing is a signal. This is real," said Joe Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund. "There's no doubt that in my career ... I've seen access challenges evolving."
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