Self-Rated Health & Access to Healthcare

Self-reported health is an indicator of quality of life, and self-ratings of poor or fair health point to a community's healthcare needs. On CDC's telephone survey with adults, respondents are asked, "Would you say that in general your health is Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor?"

In San Juan County in 2023, over one-fourth (27.7%) rated their health as "Fair" or "Poor," above the percentage across New Mexico (22.4%) and the U.S. (18.6%).

The CDC survey also asks, “Thinking about your physical health, which includes physical illness and injury, for how many days during the past 30 days was your physical health not good?” In San Juan County, 20.4% reported that 14 or more days were "not good"--an indicator known as 'frequent physical distress'--compared to 14.3% across New Mexico and 12.4% across the U.S.

To illustrate levels of healthcare needs across the community, the graph below shows self-rated "fair" or "poor" health by race/ethnicity and by sex.

Lack of health insurance is a significant barrier to obtaining health care. Estimates of insurance vary, from 2023 survey results (CDC Places) which found 13.3% of adults age 19-64 did not have health insurance, to 2024 Census data suggesting 18.7% of adults age 19-64 lack health insurance, along with 8.7% of children 18. Comparisons below are from the Census, as they are the most recent and comparable. San Juan County rates of uninsured are consistently higher than the state and U.S.

Other indicators of access and preventative healthcare include not being able to afford healthcare, having a PCP or primary care provider, and percentage who received an annual doctor visit.

According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), San Juan County is a designated “High needs geographic Health Professional Shortage Area.” The benchmark for the minimum adequate population-to-primary care provider ratio for “high needs” populations is considered to be 3,000 (or less) population to 1 “provider full-time equivalent.” San Juan County’s ratio is currently over this minimum standard, at 3,236 to 1. This overall ratio incorporates Primary Care, Dental Care, and Mental Health.

Most recent data (2023, below) from the HRSA for San Juan County showed 79 "Primary Care Physicians", (72 MD's and 7 DO's) for a total rate of 65.5 per 100,000 population, below New Mexico's rate of 94.2. San Juan County ranked 12th among New Mexico's 33 counties; New Mexico ranked 27th among the 50 states for Primary Care MD's. Other rates below show areas of greatest need for primary care and for specialties, including Psychiatry and Internal Medicine.