The obstacles faced by health care providers and patients in rural areas are vastly different than those in urban areas. Rural Americans face a unique combination of factors that create disparities in health care not found in urban areas. Economic factors, cultural and social differences, educational shortcomings, lack of recognition by legislators and the sheer isolation of living in remote rural areas all conspire to impede rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Some of these factors, and their effects, are listed below.
A National Rural Health Snapshot |
Rural |
Urban |
Percentage of USA Population** | nearly 25% | 75% + |
Percentage of USA Physicians** | 10% | 90% |
Num. of Specialists per 100,000 population** | 40.1 | 134.1 |
Population aged 65 and older | 18% | 15% |
Population below the poverty level | 14% | 11% |
Average per capita income | $19K | $26K |
Population who are non-Hispanic Whites | 83% | 69% |
Adults who describe health status as fair/poor | 28% | 21% |
Adolescents (Aged 12-17) who smoke | 19% | 11% |
Male death rate per 100,000 (Ages 1-24) | 80 | 60 |
Female death rate per 100,000 (Ages 1-24) | 40 | 30 |
Population covered by private insurance | 64% | 69% |
Population who are Medicare beneficiaries | 23% | 20% |
Medicare beneficiaries without drug coverage | 45% | 31% |
Medicare spends per capita compared to USA average | 85% | 106% |
Medicare hospital payment-to-cost ratio | 90% | 100% |
Percentage of poor covered by Medicaid | 45% | 49% |
Statistics used with permission from “Eye on Health” by the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, from an article entitled “Rural Health Can Lead the Way,” by former NRHA President, Tim Size; Executive Director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative |
(Rural Healthy People 2010—“Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document for Rural Areas,” is a project funded with grant support from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The full document is available for download at the following site:
http://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pdf)