We’re almost three months into 2025, and many Americans are watching the changes brought about by the new administration. While there are many different priorities across the country, one topic persists: the cost of healthcare. Approximately 70 percent of Americans report concern about the affordability of healthcare.
Healthcare spending in the United States has reached $4.9 trillion — 17.6 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — which equals $14,570 per person. It’s not only the cost of healthcare that’s a problem for many Americans. According to new research from Gallup, respondents ranked improving access to healthcare as one of their three highest priorities.
Only eight percent of Americans are uninsured. However, many U.S. citizens face substantial financial barriers even with health insurance status, leading to unmet health needs and poorer health outcomes. Financial instability often forces individuals to prioritize basic expenses over healthcare services, resulting in delayed care and exacerbated health conditions.
Approximately half of U.S. adults report difficulty affording healthcare costs. Many avoid preventive screenings and necessary medical care because of high out-of-pocket expenses.
Cost isn’t the only obstacle many Americans encounter when attempting to access healthcare. For example, some Americans are less likely to become engaged consistently with the healthcare system because of social determinants of health (SDOH), including education, race, age or religious or cultural beliefs. SDOH factors such as financial resources and housing stability account for a whopping 30–55 percent of individuals’ health outcomes.
Even a lack of transportation hinders some Americans from seeking routine medical care. Approximately 3.6 million adults in the U.S. — and four percent of children — miss at least one medical visit each year due to transportation issues, exacerbating health disparities. These missed appointments lead to delayed medical care, especially among low-income populations.
Hidden Barriers to Healthcare
In addition to concerns about healthcare affordability, people often find managing their healthcare overwhelming and time-consuming. Sixty-five percent of U.S. adults feel that navigating the healthcare system is a daunting task.
Lengthy appointment wait times and limited appointment availability contribute to the difficulty of obtaining needed healthcare services. The average wait time for a new patient, non-emergent physician appointment across five specialties is 26.0 days, and the average wait time for the third next available appointment across 11 medical specialties in 23 U.S. metro areas is 38 days.
Adding geographical barriers and staffing shortages to the means even more limitations for access to healthcare in the U.S., especially for racial and ethnic minorities. Cultural differences may affect the understanding of medical practices and trust in the healthcare system, and language differences can complicate communication between providers and minority patients.
Geography: Rural Residents
Roughly 80 percent of the nation’s counties, covering 30 million people, are classified as healthcare deserts, where access to healthcare is a challenge. Long travel distances often result in delayed or missed healthcare appointments, exacerbating health disparities.
Many rural residents must travel about 20 miles farther for common services like inpatient care, and 40 miles farther for less common services, making it difficult to receive timely care. People in rural areas are more likely to die from preventable or treatable diseases.
Transportation serves as a crucial SDOH, particularly in rural areas where access to healthcare services is hindered by limited transportation options. Over half of rural adults cite transportation costs as a barrier to accessing healthcare services.
Healthcare Workforce Shortages
Workforce shortages in healthcare significantly impact patient access and health outcomes. Staff shortages lead to increased wait times for care, which can exacerbate patients’ health issues.
Projected shortages of primary care physicians further threaten access to essential healthcare services. By 2036, the U.S. could face a shortage of up to 40,400 primary care physicians, increasing the risk of poor health outcomes and health disparities.
Mental health provider shortages also pose a substantial challenge to healthcare access. Many areas lack sufficient mental health providers to meet the demand for services, leaving patients with limited options for care. Approximately one-third of adults receiving mental health medical care experience access barriers.
Delayed Care, Decreased Quality of Life: The Unseen Risks of Putting Off Medical Treatment
Delayed care can have severe consequences on health outcomes. Financial instability and access barriers often lead to delays in treatment, resulting in ongoing health challenges. One in four adults in the U.S. has skipped or postponed necessary healthcare in the past 12 months.
Delaying care also increases the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with both chronic and acute health conditions. It amplifies the risk associated with preventable medical conditions and increases the likelihood of late-stage diagnoses. Untreated mental health conditions can lead to severe consequences, including unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and poor quality of life.
Breaking Down Barriers: How AI Is Reducing Barriers to Care
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have the potential to transform patient access to healthcare. By streamlining administrative tasks, eliminating manual, paper-based processes and enhancing patient engagement, they can markedly improve healthcare access and outcomes by removing those repetitive tasks from the aforementioned limited resources.
These types of digital health tools can be utilized by patients from various backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, increasing access to care for numerous populations while improving operational efficiency for healthcare providers. With AI support, medical groups can provide immediate, on-demand assistance to patients to answer commonly-asked questions, provide post-discharge instructions and disseminate patient education, thereby reducing the need for long-distance travel for routine care and improving adherence to care plans and clinical outcomes.
The Power of Agentic AI in Expanding Healthcare Access
Agentic AI tools can provide continuous, 24/7 support, automate appointment scheduling and personalize follow-up care, lowering the administrative load on healthcare practice staff. And, enabling patients to book, reschedule or cancel appointments without human intervention reduces appointment scheduling times, mitigates gaps in care and allows staff to focus on more complex tasks.
Limited comprehension of care instructions can lead to low adherence to treatment recommendations and medication guidelines. To combat language barriers that can hinder healthcare access for diverse patient populations, agentic AI solutions offering multilingual support enhance access to care for individuals with limited English proficiency and improve health literacy and patient engagement.
At Providertech, our agentic AI solution is designed to understand the way patients communicate and adapt accordingly. By meeting healthcare consumers’ expectations for a seamless experience, we produce happy patients every single call, every single time. Listen to a sample recording of Providertech.ai today to learn more!
