This figure represents almost 150,000 or 1 out of 4 adults within these subpopulations. For this reason alone, an individual or family with this type of health coverage may be considered to be underinsured. It should be noted that not all Medi-Cal recipients receive the same level of benefits or have equal access to health care. This finding would suggest more residents might, in fact, qualify for Medi-Cal coverage than are currently enrolled. The degree to which all types of health care services are used is dependent on a number of environmental, social, and economic factors that exist within a community.
Older adults tend to visit health care providers more often than their younger counterparts.
Barriers to health care access include lack of knowledge of where and how to access health care services, lack of knowlege of how the health care system is set up and how it operates, language, transportation, inflexible office hours, child care issues, and the belief that only those with money will receive quality care.