People in rural areas face unique challenges in health care coverage and access, including low density of providers and longer travel times to care, limited access to employer-sponsored coverage, and greater health care needs due to older age and lower income. Medicaid plays an important role in helping to address these challenges. This brief provides insight into the role of Medicaid in rural areas and discusses how expansions or reductions in Medicaid such as those currently under debate could affect rural areas. The analysis is based on data from the 2013-2015 American Community Survey and classifies counties as “rural” based on an Index of Relative Rurality (IRR). CONT.
Kaiser Family Foundation
