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Learn. Speak. Act
International recording artist and poet, Michael "MIKE-E" Ellison


Access to Care 101
Learn more about the access to health care issue, why it matters, and what the Society is doing about the problem.


Access to Care 201
This video illustrates the importance of providing access to health care for the uninsured and undersinsured and what the American Cancer Society is doing to help. It addresses some of the questions that have arisen since the organization's campaign began in September 2007.

Health Disparities

In 2006, the uninsured rate for non-Hispanic Whites was statistically unchanged at 10.8 percent. The uninsured rate for Blacks increased in 2006 to 20.5 percent, up from 19.0 percent in 2005. The uninsured rate for Asians decreased to 15.5 percent in 2006, down from 17.2 percent in 2005. Among Hispanics, both the number and rate of uninsured people increased in 2006 to 15.3 million and 34.1 percent respectively, up from 13.9 million and 32.3 percent in 2005.
[Source: DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Smith, J. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2007]

Uninsured, black, Hispanic, and low-income patients are less likely than white, high-income, and insured patients to receive recommended care and are more likely to be admitted to the hospital for potentially preventable conditions.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, US Health System Performance: A National Scorecard, September 2006]

Among adults ages 18 to 64, nearly half of Hispanics (49 percent) and more than one in four African Americans (28 percent) were uninsured during 2006, compared with 21 percent of whites and 18 percent of Asian Americans.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, US Health System Performance: A National Scorecard, September 2006]

Hispanics and African Americans also have differential access to a regular doctor or source of care, with Hispanics particularly at risk. As many as 43 percent of Hispanics and 21 percent of African Americans report they have no regular doctor or source of care, compared with 15 percent of whites and 16 percent of Asian Americans.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, Closing the Divide: How Medical Homes Promote Equity in Health Care, June 2007]