Rural Healthcare - What Does the Data Say
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Rural Healthcare - Let’s Look at the Data
About 20% of us live in rural America. That’s about 66 million. Life there can be very different from life in an urban environment.
The T. H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University and NPR surveyed rural communities a few years ago as the pandemic was starting and I want to share some of their findings with you. Here’s why. When we design solutions to problems, it is best to have as full an understanding of what the solution must do before you implement.
ECONOMICS
Researchers were interested in economics and so asked. “Could you afford an unexpected $1000 bill?”. Half of rural adults cannot afford to pay off an unexpected $1,000 expense right away. In addition, four in ten rural Americans say their families have experienced problems affording medical bills, housing, or food in the past few years,
32% had a problem paying a medical or dental bill and it was a major problem for 19% of the respondents.
HEALTHCARE
The survey found that 26% of rural residents needed healthcare but could not get it. The chart below indicates that cost, distance, difficulty finding an appointment, and health insurance not accepted were the major causes.
87% of those surveyed had health insurance. That’s lower than the national average. About one-quarter of rural Americans (26%) say there has been a time in the past few years when they needed health care but did not get it.
HOSPITALS
Research has recently documented a rising rate of rural hospital closures over the past decade. More than 100 have closed. In the graphic below, of US government data, you can see that the number if hospitals in the US is down about 1000 since 1975.
INTERNET
Most rural Americans (85%) say they use the internet, while 15% never go online. Among rural internet-users, a majority of adults say they use the internet for a variety of purposes, including health, finances, and work. This includes 68% who say they use the internet to get health information, 24% have used the internet for Telehealth as follows: they obtain diagnoses (25%) for chronic treatments, emergency treatments (16%), infections (9%) and prescriptions (53%).
Problem Summary
Income is a problem in rural areas evidenced by so many with an inability to manage an unexpected expense. While 87% had insurance, the survey found that 26% of rural residents needed healthcare but could not get it. Cost, distance to provider, no appointments with times that could be met, unaccepted insurance were the top reasons.
Many rural hospitals have closed in the last 10 years and so reaching facilities that could provide care can take hours.
Internet access can help provide care but 15% have none. There are also costs related to Telehealth for patients.
Let’s imagine a different situation
If everyone had insurance with no copays and deductibles then that would cover the expense portion of the problem.
If there were a way to build up the infrastructure to get doctors and nurses in healthcare facilities in more rural locations that would help.
If everyone who needed internet access could get it, that would help.
Universal healthcare would mean that everyone had insurance, so that’s a start and we already know from the Congressional Budget Office 2020 report that it costs less than we spend now and covers everyone.
Building up the infrastructure requires regional management guided by local medical professionals who know what skills and facilities are needed in their neighborhood together with a budget to bring in the providers and build up and maintain the facilities.
I want to refer you to sections 403, Regional Administration, of HR 3421, where you’ll discover how regional authorities will be able to build up that infrastructure in rural communities.
I want to refer you to section 601, National Health Budgets, of HR 3421, where you’ll discover how regional authorities will have the budget to build up and maintain the needed infrastructure (facilities and providers) to care for Rural America.
I want to refer you to section 201, Comprehensive Benefits, of HR 3421, where you’ll see what is covered, so we don’t have the problem of insurance won’t pay.
Lastly I refer you to section 611, Global Budgets, of HR 3421, that makes sure that hospitals and networks have what they need to cover their staff and infrastructure to care for their patients.
There are other bills to expand internet access, but remember 85% of Rural America has access, but not all use it for Telehealth. HR 3421, section 201 (18) says that “Any service described in the comprehensive benefits section that is furnished via Telehealth, to the extent practical is covered.
ACTION
Let’s teach our Congressional Representatives and Senators that HR 3421, the improved Medicare for All Act, makes good sense to cover all of us and builds up the healthcare infrastructure in rural areas to make sure that the 66 million rural Americans have the good healthcare they deserve, that we all deserve.
Their contact information is in the resources section or you can use RESISTBOT by texting to 50409 SIGN PGFENY to send the email below.
I am your constituent and I just learned that healthcare is a serious problem in Rural America. More rural Americans lack health insurance, they have to travel far to get to a doctor, and it is hard to pay for, even when they have insurance that is accepted.
We can fix this with the improved Medicare for All Act HR 3421. Let me show you.
Universal healthcare would mean that everyone had insurance, so that’s a start and we already know from the Congressional Budget Office 2020 report that it costs less than we spend now and covers everyone.
Building up the infrastructure requires regional management guided by local medical professionals who know what skills and facilities are needed where together with a budget to bring in the providers and build up and maintain the facilities.
I want to refer you to sections 403, Regional Administration, of HR 3421, where you’ll discover how regional authorities will be able to build up that infrastructure in rural communities.
I want to refer you to section 601, National Health Budgets, of HR 3421, where you’ll discover how regional authorities will have the budget to build up and maintain the needed infrastructure (facilities and providers) to care for Rural America.
I want to refer you to section 201, Comprehensive Benefits, of HR 3421, where you’ll see what is covered, so we don’t have the problem of insurance won’t pay.
Lastly I refer you to section 611, Global Budgets, of HR 3421, that makes sure that hospitals and networks have what they need to cover their staff and infrastructure to care for their patients.
There are other bills to expand internet access, but remember 85% of Rural America has access, but not all use it for Telehealth. HR 3421, section 201 (18) says that “Any service described in the comprehensive benefits section that is furnished via Telehealth, to the extent practical is covered.
The improved Medicare for All Act, makes good sense to cover all of us and builds up the healthcare infrastructure in rural areas to make sure that the 66 million rural Americans have the good healthcare they deserve, that we all deserve. I want you to cosponsor HR 3421 and see that it is enacted.
RESOURCES
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. NARAL’s abortion resource
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Alan, this information is as good as it gets. Amazing job!