Health Care Use and Health Care‒Amenable Mortality Among US Adults With and Without a Bachelor's Degree, 1996‒2023.

The article focuses on widening education-based disparities in outpatient health care utilization and medically preventable deaths in the United States over the past 25 years. Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (1996–2022) and death certificates (2001–2023), the study found that adults without a bachelor's degree (BA) increasingly experienced fewer outpatient visits and higher rates of health care‒amenable mortality—deaths potentially preventable through timely and effective medical care—compared to those with a BA. These disparities grew despite adjustments for health status and were most pronounced among younger and middle-aged adults. The findings highlight a growing social inequity in health care access and outcomes, suggesting that improving access to ambulatory and primary care for less-educated Americans could help address these gaps.