The Institute of Medicine has grown increasingly concerned about the rate of uninsured rural Americans. Experts lament the growing threat uninsured Americans pose to the very fabric of America’s health care system.
In a report on the issue, The Center for Rural Affairs listed some of their concerns. These include the fact that rural residents are more likely to be uninsured than non-rural residents. Also, rural residents’ health insurance coverage pays less of their health care expenses than their urban counterparts. Furthermore, rural families devote more of their income to health care costs. Rural residents have also been found to be sicker, in general, than urban residents. They have higher rates of all common diseases than city dwellers. The healthiness of rural people has been found to be linked to the quality of their insurance.