More than one in five U.S. adults without access to a vehicle or public transportation missed or skipped a medical appointment last year, according to a report by the Urban Institute.
Why it matters: Transportation is a key social driver of health equity.
- While telehealth has reduced some transportation barriers, it's not accessible to all and can't replace in-person care for all medical needs, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim reports.
What they found: Nationwide, 21% of adults without access to a vehicle or public transit said they went without needed medical care in 2022.
- Though 91% of adults reported they had access to a vehicle, the figure was substantially lower for Black adults (81%), those with low family incomes (78%) or a disability (83%) and for individuals with public health insurance (79%) or no coverage (83%).
Zoom in: In the New Orleans metro, 10.2% of households don't have access to a vehicle — and that number almost doubles for Black New Orleanians, per the National Equity Atlas.
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