Rural in the News

RUPRI Participates in White House Office of Health Reform Healthcare Stakeholder Discussion

On Monday, May 4, the White House Office of Health Reform held a conversation with rural Americans as part of their ongoing White House Health Care Stakeholder Discussions.  RUPRI Vice President Chuck Fluharty participated in the discussion, along with representatives from the Center for Rural Affairs, major farm organizations and rural practitioners.  The unique challenges of accessing health care in rural America and the affordability of health coverage for small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs, the lifeblood of the rural economy, were presented to White House representatives.

During this Discussion, HHS released a report, “Hard Times in the Heartland: Health Care in Rural America.”  As highlighted in the report,

• Nearly one in five of the uninsured – 8.5 million people – live in rural areas.
• Rural residents pay on average for 40% of their health care costs out of their own pocket, compared with the urban share of one-third.
• In a multi-state survey, one in five insured farmers had medical debt
• There were 55 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents in rural areas, compared with 72 pre 100,000 in urban areas. 

The report can be found on the White House Health Reform Website, http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/

For a direct White House blog posting on the event, please visit

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/05/04/Streaming-Now-Stakeholder-Discussion-on-Rural-Health-Care/