Healthy People 2010 objectives for access to health care include that for people age 18 and over, at least 96% will have a specific source of ongoing primary care and 100% will have health insurance. As of 2001, S.C. BRFSS data showed 80.7% of S.C. residents had a specific source of ongoing primary care and 83.6% had health insurance.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2006), 667,000 residents of S.C. are uninsured. This constitutes 16% of the state’s population. This is slightly higher than the national uninsured rate of 15%.

Results of the 2007 S.C. Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey indicate that residents of Spartanburg County report having the second lowest rate of health insurance coverage (after Greenville County). All peer counties, except Greenville, had higher rates of insurance coverage than the 2006 S.C. total rate. Spartanburg also ranks second, after Greenville, for residents who report that cost prohibited them from seeking care from a physician when they needed it (Table 1).