5 Takeaways on Rural Health Care Access

November 07, 2024

Americans in rural communities face unique health challenges, but there are opportunities to improve their access to care.

A new report from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation highlights the ways health insurance coverage, telehealth, and workforce programs can help address health disparities in rural communities and support care across the continuum.

Among the report’s key takeaways

• The challenge:  Several factors contribute to health disparities in rural areas, including “geographic distances, infrastructure limitations, and provider shortages.”
• Impact of telehealth:  Initiatives to broaden access to telehealth—such as regulatory flexibility and improved broadband access—can help connect rural Americans to care.
  • “Telehealth is a potential opportunity to improve access to care for many individuals and populations, including those who live in rural areas or in areas with shortages of providers,” the report notes.
• U.S. coverage:  Uninsured rates among adults under age 65 in rural areas have fallen from 23.8 percent during 2010 to 12.6 percent during 2023.
• Pennsylvania share:  In the commonwealth, the percentage of rural adults without health insurance declined from 17.5 percent during 2010 to 16.1 percent during 2023.
• Key insight:  “One important way to increase access to care is to expand health insurance coverage. The uninsured rates in rural areas have fallen substantially since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (as have uninsured rates in urban areas), but overall uninsured rates in rural areas continue to be consistently higher than those in urban areas,” the report notes.

The research report is available to review online. Learn more about our priorities to support rural health.