Jul 25, 2023 - Health
Data du jour: Rural Americans likelier to pass on needed care due to expense
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The U.S. outranks other developed nations in the percentage of rural adults who skip medical care because they can't afford it, per a new Commonwealth Fund analysis of 11 high-income countries.
- About 15%, or nearly 46 million people, live in outlying areas in the U.S., and rural Americans have poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts, in part due to access issues.
- More than a third of rural Americans reported skipping needed care because of costs — more than twice the rate of rural residents in six of the other countries in the analysis.
- Telehealth, increased primary care access and recruitment of health workers to underserved areas are some strategies other countries have employed to even out the disparity, per the Commonwealth Fund.
