NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY · EARLY RELEASE
Healthcare
Resource Priorities
Turn national signals into local decisions.
A practical guide to direct the next dollar toward accessible care, stronger clinical follow-up, and patients who need help completing treatment.
Diagnosed hypertension
Build the follow-up behind the BP check.
Regular chronic pain
Invest in function and coordinated care.
Medical care missed due to cost
Remove barriers to completed treatment.
Annual 2025 national estimates for adults aged 18 and older. Populations overlap. These percentages are signals for investigation, not local service-volume forecasts.
CHOOSE YOUR FACILITY LENS
Translate the findings into your operating environment.
01 / READ THE NATIONAL SIGNALS
Need is substantial.
Demand still needs to be demonstrated.
The chart compares selected national burdens. Thin black marks show the published 95% confidence intervals. Work absence uses a restricted working-adult denominator.
Selected health burdens
January to December 2025 · Percent of eligible adults
Except work absence, all rows refer to adults aged 18 and older. Half-year windows are interview periods; many questions use overlapping preceding-12-month reference periods. Differences are not evidence of significant trends.
A check is only the beginning
87.5% reported a recent blood pressure check. That does not establish controlled hypertension. Track treatment and follow-up.
Close the access gap
7.5% of prescription users changed medication use to save money. Add affordability to clinical care management.
Count people correctly
20.9% reported at least one ED visit. This is not visit volume or a count of avoidable emergency care.
02 / MODEL THE NEXT INVESTMENT
Build a focused
resource portfolio.
The starting mix is an illustrative management recommendation for a new discretionary operating improvement fund. It is not an NHIS result or an optimized budget.
USD · existing essential services stay in the base budget.
100% allocated · balanced
Choose your allocation
EDITABLE SCENARIO| Priority | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Primary care & hypertension | $30,000 | |
| Integrated behavioral health | $20,000 | |
| Pain & physical function | $20,000 | |
| Affordability & navigation | $20,000 | |
| Prevention & community links | $10,000 | |
| Total assigned | 100% | $100,000 |
Shares are independent. If the total differs from 100%, the scenario stays visibly unbalanced until you edit or normalize it. No allocation changes silently.
At day 30, revise the mix using local unmet need, staffing capacity, wait times, and incremental economics.
03 / PUT THE RESOURCES TO WORK
Five priorities.
Clear operating responsibilities.
Open each priority to connect the national signal, the practical investment, and the measures that belong on your executive dashboard.
01Primary care & hypertensionBuild reliable follow-up after the measurement.27.8%
Diagnosed hypertension · annual 2025
Where resources go
Fund nurse or pharmacist follow-up, medication review, home BP support, and protected access.
What leaders measure
Track BP control, missing measurements, medication access, and completed follow-up.
Evidence and interpretation. A 2025 meta-analysis found pharmacist care reduced systolic BP by about 5.3 mmHg relative to comparison care, with considerable variation between studies. Gastens et al., 2025
02Integrated behavioral healthMake treatment reachable through routine care.12.5%
Regular anxiety-related feelings · annual 2025
Where resources go
Embed or contract a care manager, psychiatric consultation, brief therapy, and scheduled reassessment.
What leaders measure
Track time to first completed visit, treatment initiation, symptom change, and missing follow-up.
Evidence and interpretation. Recent trial-based evidence supports collaborative depression care, with modest average benefits. The national feelings measure is not a count of diagnosed disorders. Schillok et al., 2025
03Pain & physical functionOrganize services around what patients can do.20.8%
Regular chronic pain · annual 2025
Where resources go
Coordinate assessment, conservative care, rehabilitation, and behavioral support around clinical need.
What leaders measure
Track a consistent validated function measure, treatment completion, and adverse events.
Evidence and interpretation. The SPACE trial found opioids were not superior to nonopioid medication strategies for pain-related function in its studied chronic back and osteoarthritis pain populations. Krebs et al., 2018
04Affordability & navigationHelp patients get from referral to completed care.6.0%
Needed medical care missed due to cost · annual 2025
Where resources go
Resolve benefits, medication cost, transport, and scheduling barriers. Provide understandable estimates and close the referral loop.
What leaders measure
Track barrier resolution, referral-to-completion time, cancellations, and patient expense.
Evidence and interpretation. In ARTEMIS, copayment vouchers modestly improved medication persistence without a significant one-year reduction in major cardiovascular outcomes. Local savings require measurement. Wang et al., 2019
05Prevention & community linksUse existing encounters and trusted partners.41.8%
Influenza vaccination in past 12 months · annual 2025
Where resources go
Review vaccination status, connect tobacco users with treatment, and strengthen dental and community partnerships.
What leaders measure
Track documented receipt among eligible patients, unknown status, barriers, and completed partner referrals.
Evidence and interpretation. National prevention indicators identify opportunities for local investigation. The influenza measure covers the preceding 12 months and is not season-specific. NHIS 2025 early release
OUTPATIENT MRI APPLICATION
Make clinically indicated exams easier to complete.
Invest in benefits verification, authorization support, understandable cost estimates, accessible appointments, cancellation recovery, and communication with the ordering clinician.
Before adding a scanner or modality
- Demonstrate sustained appropriate backlog and use by time of day.
- Verify staffing feasibility and payer-specific collections.
- Model incremental economics under conservative volumes.
- Test extended hours and workflow improvements where feasible.
Chronic pain prevalence does not establish MRI eligibility or procedure demand.
AN ILLUSTRATION OF SCALE
See the national rate
in a population you define.
This is a national-rate equivalent. It applies a published rate and its interval to an eligible population size. It does not forecast local prevalence, service demand, or revenue.
Use adults aged 18 years and older.
Published-rate interval scaled to this population: 2,700 to 2,850
Annual 2025 rate. This interval reflects national survey uncertainty, not local variation.These people can overlap with other indicators. Do not add national-rate equivalents across conditions. Actual local counts may differ substantially.
04 / MOVE FROM SIGNAL TO ACTION
Your first 90 days.
A plan leaders can review.
Complete the checklist as evidence is assembled. Progress describes these planning tasks, not clinical effectiveness or accreditation compliance.
The exported JSON includes your mode, budget, allocation, checklist, and notes. Import only a plan you trust. Browser storage can be cleared by your browser; download a copy to keep your work.
THE CAPITAL DECISION GATE
Need
Who is clinically eligible and currently underserved?
Capacity
Can existing staff, hours, and partners meet the gap?
Economics
What revenue is collectible after incremental costs?
Evidence
What pilot results justify expanding, revising, or stopping?
05 / INSPECT THE SOURCE DATA
All 22 indicators.
Keep the denominators visible.
Search, filter, and compare the printed estimates. Expand a row to see its denominator and interpretation notes. Estimates are percentages, with published 95% confidence intervals.
| Indicator | Category | Estimate | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|
Disability statusDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health status | 9.8% | 9.4 to 10.4% |
Six or more workdays missed due to illness, injury, or disability in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older who worked in the past 12 months. Conditional denominator: adults aged 18+ who worked for pay last week, were temporarily absent from a job or business, worked at an unpaid job or business, or were not currently working but worked at any time in the past 12 months. Seasonal/contract respondents included only if they also worked in the past 12 months. National civilian noninstitutionalized population. | Health status | 12.8% | 12.2 to 13.5% |
Asthma episode in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health status | 3.7% | 3.4 to 4.0% |
Diagnosed hypertension in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health status | 27.8% | 27.0 to 28.5% |
Regularly experienced chronic painDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Chronic pain measure; not an indicator of MRI eligibility or procedure demand. | Health status | 20.8% | 20.1 to 21.5% |
Regularly had feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxietyDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Reported feelings are not equivalent to a diagnosed anxiety or depressive disorder. | Health status | 12.5% | 12.1 to 13.0% |
Regularly had feelings of depressionDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Reported feelings are not equivalent to a diagnosed anxiety or depressive disorder. | Health status | 4.5% | 4.2 to 4.8% |
Doctor visit in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care service use | 84.9% | 84.2 to 85.6% |
Hospital emergency department visit in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Adults reporting at least one ED visit, not number of visits or potentially avoidable visits. | Health care service use | 20.9% | 20.2 to 21.5% |
Counseled by a mental health professional in the past 12 monthsPublished CI noteDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Counseling use and unmet need for care have different meanings and cannot be subtracted to calculate a treatment gap. Annual counseling CI reproduced exactly as printed: 13.4 (12.1-13.9). Possible source inconsistency; do not silently correct. | Health care service use | 13.4% | 12.1 to 13.9% |
Blood pressure check in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care service use | 87.5% | 86.9 to 88.1% |
Dental exam or cleaning in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care service use | 66.7% | 65.6 to 67.8% |
Receipt of influenza vaccination in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care service use | 41.8% | 40.8 to 42.8% |
Did not get needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care access | 6.0% | 5.6 to 6.4% |
Did not get needed mental health care due to cost in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health care access | 5.4% | 5.0 to 5.8% |
Did not take medication as prescribed to save money in the past 12 monthsDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older who used prescription medication in the past 12 months. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Conditional denominator; includes medication-taking changes to save money. Not a percentage of all adults. | Health care access | 7.5% | 7.1 to 7.9% |
Uninsured at time of interview (adults aged 18-64)Definition and denominatorAdults aged 18-64 years. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Coverage at interview; private and public coverage can overlap; exchange-based coverage is not an additional mutually exclusive category. | Health insurance coverage | 11.6% | 10.9 to 12.3% |
Private health insurance coverage at time of interview (adults aged 18-64)Definition and denominatorAdults aged 18-64 years. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Coverage at interview; private and public coverage can overlap; exchange-based coverage is not an additional mutually exclusive category. | Health insurance coverage | 69.4% | 68.3 to 70.5% |
Public health plan coverage at time of interview (adults aged 18-64)Definition and denominatorAdults aged 18-64 years. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Coverage at interview; private and public coverage can overlap; exchange-based coverage is not an additional mutually exclusive category. | Health insurance coverage | 21.0% | 20.2 to 21.9% |
Exchange-based health plan coverage at time of interview (adults aged 18-64)Definition and denominatorAdults aged 18-64 years. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. Coverage at interview; private and public coverage can overlap; exchange-based coverage is not an additional mutually exclusive category. | Health insurance coverage | 7.1% | 6.6 to 7.7% |
Current cigarette smokingDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health behaviors | 9.1% | 8.6 to 9.7% |
Current electronic cigarette useDefinition and denominatorAdults aged 18 years and older. National civilian noninstitutionalized population; self-reported household interview estimate. | Health behaviors | 6.7% | 6.2 to 7.2% |
No indicators match your filters. Try another word or choose all categories.
The annual counseling interval, 13.4% (12.1% to 13.9%), is reproduced exactly as printed. Its unusual asymmetry is flagged for verification. No corrected interval has been inferred.
READ BEFORE MAKING COMMITMENTS
What this evidence can and cannot tell you
Preliminary national evidence
The 2025 NHIS adult sample included 24,208 people. Estimates describe the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Late-year fieldwork was interrupted; December was not fielded and weights were adjusted. Estimates precede final editing and weighting.
Use the right denominator
Most indicators concern adults 18 and older. Insurance indicators concern ages 18 to 64. Medication cost behavior concerns prescription users. Work absence concerns adults with qualifying recent or past-year employment.
People and categories overlap
Do not sum conditions, service use, or insurance percentages. Private and public coverage can overlap; exchange coverage is included within private coverage. National coverage is not your facility payer mix.
Do not infer missing outcomes
Symptoms are not diagnoses. BP checks are not BP control. ED use is not avoidable utilization. Chronic pain is not MRI demand. Half-year differences are not evidence of significant trends, causation, or sustained change.
Local validation is the decision standard. These indicators cannot rank oncology, maternity, diabetes, obesity, pediatric services, or other needs not represented in the sheet. Use your service-area evidence and require a local business case before permanent staffing or capital commitments.
Sources, peer-reviewed evidence, and provenance
Download executive summary (Word)
Primary dataset. Norris, T., Bottoms-McClain, L., & Adjaye-Gbewonyo, D. (2026). Early release of selected estimates based on data from the 2025 National Health Interview Survey. National Center for Health Statistics. Supplied two-page sheet, May 2026 release.
Definitions and design. NCHS. (2026). Technical notes. 2025 preliminary microdata codebook, quarters 3 and 4.
Gastens, V., et al. (2025). Pharmacists delivering hypertension care services: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 12, 1477729. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1477729
Schillok, H., et al. (2025). Effective components of collaborative care for depression in primary care: An individual participant data meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 82(9), 868–876. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.0183
Krebs, E. E., et al. (2018). Effect of opioid vs nonopioid medications on pain-related function in patients with chronic back pain or hip or knee osteoarthritis pain: The SPACE randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 319(9), 872–882. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.0899
Wang, T. Y., et al. (2019). Effect of medication co-payment vouchers on P2Y12 inhibitor use and major adverse cardiovascular events among patients with myocardial infarction: The ARTEMIS randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 321(1), 44–55. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19791
Prepared September 27, 2026. The budget shares and implementation milestones are management recommendations. The source data and research evidence do not establish an optimized allocation or guaranteed clinical or financial return.