A startling 56 million Americans are "medically disenfranchised," according to "Access Denied," a new study by the National Association of Community Health Centers and the Robert Graham Center. The groups' research found that nearly one in five Americans - of all income levels, racial and ethnic groups and insurance status - are at great risk of not having a "medical home" to address their basic health needs from the common cold to migraines or high blood sugar.

No matter where they live - in rural pockets of America's farm land, in urban neighborhoods, or in suburban developments - medically disenfranchised Americans face disparities in access to primary and preventive health care. The toll of these unmet needs is steep, from higher death and disease rates to wide health disparities in communities where residents have few or no primary health care options.

Unmet health care needs are not just a consequence of being poor and uninsured. Americans at all income levels are feeling the primary health care pinch. Even those lucky enough to have good health insurance face a large and growing shortage of primary health care options. In fact, the number of communities deemed as having too few primary care physicians is growing precisely as demand is projected to grow with a rapidly gr owing pool of baby boomers turning 65 over the next several years.

Access Denied: A Look at America's Medically Disadvantaged