Almost 1 in 5 Americans Going Without Health Care

Last year, 87 percent of young children between 19months and 35 months old were vaccinated against bacterial meningitis, up from 41 percent in 2002.

Moreover, the percentage of adults with high cholesterol dropped, to 17 percent, down from 21 percent between 1988-1994.

Also, 25 percent of adults had untreated cavities in 2004, down from 50 percent in the early 1970s, the report said.

"There has been important progress made in many areas of health, such as increased life expectancy, and decreases in deaths from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer. But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement," CDC Director Julie Gerberding said in a prepared statement.

One expert believes the answer to the problem lies in a universal national health care system.

"It's scandalous that so many people in this country couldn't get needed health care," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program.

This is not only a problem for people who are uninsured, Woolhandler said.

"It's common that people have insurance, but because of gaps in their coverage like co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services, people report that they needed but couldn't get health care," she added.

More information

You can read the full report at the CDC.

SOURCES: Amy Bernstein, Sc.D., chief, analytic studies branch, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md.; Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., associate professor, medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and co-founder, Physicians for a National Health Program; Dec. 3, 2007, CDC reportHealth, United States, 2007