AANP survey: 40% of Americans report unreasonable waits for health care

More than 40% of respondents said they experienced a “longer than reasonable” wait for health care, according to a national survey of U.S. adults conducted in April 2023 by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Nearly half of those who experienced unreasonable wait times stopped trying to get an appointment and did not receive care, including patients seeking critical mental health services. More than one-quarter of respondents reported waiting more than two months to gain access to a health care provider. The long waits affected patients from all demographics and geographic areas. Younger adults, people living in urban areas and respondents who reported their ethnicity as Hispanic were most likely to give up on seeing a provider. (AANP news release, 7/12/23)