OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between patient satisfaction with access to care and their perceived health status. METHODS: Information on patient satisfaction with access to care and perceived health status along with their demographics was extracted for people 35-64 years of age, from the Household Component of 1999 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Descriptive statistics were used to illustrate the characteristics of the study population. Multiple regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between patient satisfaction and their self-rated health status controlling for age, gender, race, marital status and education level. All analyses used STATA 8.0 which is designed to analyze weighted data. RESULTS: A total of 8746 patients met the study inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Of these patients, 53% were females, 69.3% were married and 82% were Caucasian. The majority (44.9%) had a high school diploma and 14.5%, 6.9% and 1.7% held BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees, respectively. Patients who rated their health better scored higher in their satisfaction with access to care. In addition, higher satisfaction was found in patients with the following characteristics: being older, female, Eskimo, married and with higher education. Asian and Hispanic patients scored lower in satisfaction than Caucasian patients. CONCLUSIONS: In general, patients who perceived themselves in better health are more satisfied with access to care than those with worse perceived health status.