All Californians should have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Californians with low incomes often face greater barriers to care than those with higher incomes.

This quick reference guide, available below, is part of CHCF’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analyses describing the state’s health care landscape.

Twenty-eight percent of Californians with low incomes reported their health status as fair/poor compared to 10% of Californians with higher incomes.

Those with fair or poor health were more likely to report that they delayed or didn’t get the medical care they felt they needed. Of those that delayed care, nearly half cited cost or lack of insurance as the reason.

While there was not much difference in difficulty finding primary care, the percentage of Californians with low incomes that reported difficulty finding specialty care was 18% compared to 9% of those with higher incomes.