The Rural Poor and Access To Health Care

Many times when we think of the word "poverty," images of urban slums, soup kitchen lines and the homeless are the first thoughts that pop into our heads.

But as many of you know, poverty has no geographical boundaries.  There are many families living in rural America that struggle to survive with less access to poverty-support systems that are often based in cities. One of the most significant challenges these families often face is access to affordable health care.

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services paints a grim picture of rural economies and health care access in communities across the county. Among the findings:

-Rates of poverty are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. While 12% of those in urban areas live in poverty, 15% of rural Americans live below the poverty line.

-Rural economies that depend on manufacturing have lost 5% of their jobs since the current recession began.

-Nearly 1 in 5 of the nation’s 8.5 million uninsured live in rural areas.

-Rural residents have more out of pocket health care expenses than their urban counterparts. Urban residents pay for 1/3 of their health care costs out of pocket while rural residents average paying nearly 40%.

- Obesity is more common among rural residents (27%) than urban residents (24%), as are diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

As economic conditions have worsened in the U.S. over the past year, rural residents have been disproportionately hard-hit. As jobs are lost in these communities, health benefits go with them. This fact risks exacerbating the already significant health care disparities between rural and urban residents.

Further illustrating the challenges of rural communities, a new report published by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service predicts difficulty in caring for the state’s increasingly aging rural population. The report’s author notes that “rural communities in particular will face challenges because of generally higher rates of poverty and difficulty in providing adequate services,” and “because rural seniors tend to be older and poorer, they often have more health problems, are more likely to live alone and have a greater need for social services.”

In these difficult economic times, we must support our friends and neighbors as much as possible. There is no better time to buy local goods, and by this I mean much more than food. Shop at the locally-owned hardware store, gift shop, bookstore and bakery instead of going to a Big Box store and spending money that leaves the community immediately.

I am a great believer in the community multiplier effect which basically states that the more money that is spent locally, the greater the likelihood that this money will stay in the local economy and continue to re-circulate through (and benefit) the entire community.

The more money flowing through a local economy, the more local jobs that are created and the easier it will be for community members to access affordable health care. In my opinion, the strongest social safety net is built upon a thriving local and regional economy.

Now there are much more complicated matters to consider when thinking about how to ensure all rural residents have access to the medical care they need. I encourage you to check out Steph Larsen’s blog posts over on the Sustainable Food page. She has been discussing rural health care issues for several weeks and is much more knowledgeable about potential solutions than I am.

(Photo credit: flattop341 on Flickr)