Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released an analysis of how the Affordable Care Act has benefited rural America. The findings, which examine independent studies and other data, show that health coverage in rural counties increased by 8.0 percentage points between late 2013 and early 2015, and the share of rural Americans unable to afford needed care dropped by almost six percentage points.
“The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of people in rural areas access quality, affordable health coverage,” said Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “As someone from rural America, I know how important these gains in coverage and access to care are to communities like my hometown of Hinton, West Virginia.”
Despite being disproportionately likely to live in states that have not expanded Medicaid, rural Americans have seen coverage gains under the Affordable Act on par with residents of cities because they have benefited from the Health Insurance Marketplace and tax credits that keep coverage affordable, from other coverage reforms such as the elimination of exclusions based on pre-existing conditions.
[For more go to http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/...ing-rural-areas.html]
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