In Good Health: Finding a primary care physician

When was the last time you went to the doctor?

Not necessarily for something big, not for a broken finger or the flu. Just a checkup. A regular annual visit to make sure everything is ok with your health.

For about a third of Americans, it’s probably been too long. In 2024, more than 100 million people did not have a regular primary doctor at all, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.

The outlook is particularly bleak for young people. More than a quarter of people aged 18 to 29 polled in a national survey this summer said they didn’t have a primary care doctor. And over half  of them who did have a doctor said they skipped or didn’t schedule an annual wellness check up in the past year. 

But the blame shouldn’t fall solely on the patients. Primary care doctors are getting squeezed by the current healthcare system. There’s a growing shortage of primary care physicians. That can mean wait times of months just to get an appointment.

For today’s installment of our series, “In Good Health,” we’re unpacking the state of primary care—and what to do if you don’t have access to it.