How Far Will Seniors Travel For Medical Care? Much Farther Than Studies Have Assumed

A retired 73-year-old living in a small town, an hour from the nearest specialist, might seem like the textbook case for missed appointments and delayed care. Decades of medical research have treated that kind of distance as a dealbreaker. But a large new national survey suggests that assumption may be off: the typical older American says they’d be willing to travel more than two hours each way to see a specialist before they’d even consider putting off the visit.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the results call into question a common assumption in healthcare research: that travel time is one of the biggest barriers keeping older adults from getting medical care. With rural hospitals closing, health systems merging, and doctor shortages growing, the data points to seniors who are far more willing to hit the road than researchers have assumed.

That doesn’t mean the problem of healthcare access is solved. But it raises a pointed question: if researchers have been working from assumptions that may not reflect how people actually weigh travel time, how many studies about healthcare access have been built on an unsteady foundation?

What the Study Found About Older Americans and Travel Time

Researchers from the University of Southern California surveyed 2,650 adults aged 65 and older through a nationally representative internet panel called the Understanding America Study. The survey ran between April 23 and June 8, 2025, and achieved a strong response rate of 78.2 percent. Participants who lacked internet access or a telephone were provided with a tablet and broadband connection, helping avoid the kind of sampling bias that plagues many online surveys.

Participants were asked, through a series of carefully designed trade-off questions, how long they’d be willing to travel one way for three types of medical appointments: a primary care visit, a specialty care visit, and a one-time diagnostic procedure like an MRI. The question was how far they’d go before they would delay or skip the appointment entirely.

Median willingness to travel came in at about 68 minutes for primary care, roughly 128 minutes for specialty care, and about 113 minutes for a one-time diagnostic appointment. About 60 percent of respondents said they’d travel at least one hour for a routine primary care visit. For specialty care, that number jumped to more than 84 percent. For diagnostic appointments, 82.5 percent said the same. About one in five respondents said they’d be willing to travel four hours or more each way to see a specialist.

Who Would Travel Farther for Medical Care, and Who Wouldn’t

Not everyone expressed the same willingness to endure a long drive. The study found clear patterns linked to income, education, race, health status, and geography.

Older adults with household incomes above $60,000 a year said they’d travel roughly 23 more minutes for specialty care than those with lower incomes. People with a bachelor’s degree or higher were willing to travel about 17 more minutes to primary care, 26 more minutes to specialty care, and 25 more minutes to a diagnostic appointment compared to those without a four-year degree. The researchers suggested these differences likely reflect the ability to afford transportation costs and greater flexibility in scheduling.

Racial and ethnic minority respondents were willing to travel about 15 more minutes for primary care than non-Hispanic White respondents, even after the analysis accounted for income and whether they lived in a city or rural area. The study’s authors noted the underlying reasons for this difference deserve further investigation.

On the other side, people who reported being in fair or poor health were willing to travel about 11 fewer minutes to primary care and 15 fewer minutes to specialty care than those who reported better health. Despite presumably needing care the most, poor health appeared to act as its own barrier. Similarly, people who had previously experienced trouble getting to medical appointments were willing to travel 16 to 22 fewer minutes across all three types of care.

Where someone lived also mattered. Respondents in metro areas were willing to travel about 13 fewer minutes to primary care and nearly 24 fewer minutes to specialty care compared to those in less densely populated areas. People in rural areas are already accustomed to longer drives and may have adjusted their expectations accordingly.

One practical factor stood out. People who typically drove themselves to appointments were willing to travel about 16 more minutes for a diagnostic procedure than those who relied on someone else for transportation. Those who were at least occasionally accompanied to appointments were also willing to travel longer in some cases.

How the Current System Actually Looks for Older Americans

Beyond measuring willingness to travel, the survey offered a reassuring snapshot of older Americans’ current access to care. Nearly all respondents, 98.2 percent, reported having a primary care doctor, and about 86 percent said they visit a specialist. Among those with a primary care doctor, roughly 82 percent currently travel 30 minutes or less to their appointment. For specialty care, about 61 percent reported travel times of 30 minutes or less.

Metro-area residents were far more likely to reach their primary care doctor within 30 minutes (about 85 percent versus 70 percent for rural respondents), and the gap was even larger for specialty care (about 70 percent in metro areas versus 29 percent in rural areas).

About 84 percent said they typically drive themselves to appointments. About 36 percent reported having someone accompany them at least occasionally, most commonly for emotional support. About 26 percent said they had experienced trouble getting to medical appointments at some point, with long travel time and disability or limited mobility being among the most common difficulties.

Why These Findings on Travel Time Matter for Policy

Prior studies on cancer treatment and neurological care defined “long travel” as 50 miles or more, roughly an hour of highway driving. But the typical respondent in this survey said they’d willingly travel about twice that duration for specialty care or a diagnostic procedure. One prior study argued that an average 69-minute drive to a diagnostic procedure could be a barrier for rural residents; the new data shows older adults would be willing to travel at least twice as long.

At the same time, the results reveal who is most vulnerable. People with lower incomes, less education, worse health, and past difficulties with transportation were consistently less willing to travel far, or perhaps less able to. The researchers noted that programs like non-emergency medical transportation benefits offered by Medicaid and some Medicare Advantage plans have been shown to improve access to care, and that efforts to increase awareness of these programs may be warranted. Telehealth could also help bridge the gap for those who can’t or won’t endure a long drive.

It’s also worth noting that this study captured what people say they’d do, which doesn’t always match real-world behavior. The specific travel-time figures should be read as indicators of preference, not guaranteed actions.

Still, as hospital closures and health system mergers continue to push specialized care farther from where people live, it matters enormously whether a two-hour drive is a dealbreaker or just a regular part of the week. For millions of older Americans, this study suggests, it’s closer to the latter.

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This article is based on published scientific research and is intended for general informational purposes. It does not constitute medical advice.