1 in 5 Texas counties have 1 primary care physician or none

Morgan Haefner -

Access to primary care physicians for rural Texans is scarce, according to an analysis from the Observer.

More than a fifth of the state's 254 counties either don't have a primary care physician or only have one. Nationally, Texas is second only to California in states facing the highest shortages of primary care providers, according to a new ranking from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Texas had about 54 primary care physicians per 100,000 people in 2018, whereas the national ratio was 76 per 100,000. Today, more than a quarter of Texas residents live in an underserved area and face longer travel times to care, which can ultimately lead to untimely deaths, according to the Observer.

To view the Observer's analysis, click here.

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