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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medical debt

Not Enough: Medicaid Expansion, Medical Debt, and Cost Avoidance in Rural American Indian and Alaska Native Households
Presents a study on the effect of Medicaid expansion on the medical debt and cost avoidance for rural American Indian and Alaska Native households. Compares rates of medical debt and cost avoidance from AI/AN communities in Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states.
Author(s): Sean Hubbard
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12925
Date: 01/2025
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Financial Stress Associated with Oncology Clinical Trial Participation
Examines accessibility issues and financial stress of 112 patients participating in an oncology clinical trial between 2018 and 2024. Includes demographic information, cancer type, miles traveled, and financial burden of participants, as well as commentary on access issues for those in rural areas.
Author(s): Allison Kolbe, Trinidad Beleche
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Medical Debt and Its Impact on Rural Patients and Providers, with Carrie Henning-Smith
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Carrie Henning-Smith, Co-Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. Focuses on the prevalence of and difficulties caused by medical debt for both rural patients and providers.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Understanding the Impact of Medical Debt in Rural Communities: Perspectives from Rural Hospital Administrators
Presents findings from key informant interviews with rural hospital administrators across seven states regarding the impact of medical debt on hospitals and patients in rural communities. Describes themes related to causes and consequences of medical debt across three domains: hospital, patient/community, and policy.
Author(s): Mariana Tuttle, Ingrid Jacobson, Katie Rydberg, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Medical Debt of Residents in the Metro and the Nonmetro
Analyzes the levels and causes of medical debt in the metro and nonmetro United States. Utilizes 2017-2022 KFF survey data to examine medical debt according to sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, and income. Discusses perceptions of medical debt and how patients address unexpected medical bills.
Author(s): Adee Athiyaman
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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The Intersection of Travel Burdens and Financial Hardship in Cancer Care: A Scoping Review
Examines the relationship among rurality, access to cancer care, travel burdens, and financial hardship. Identifies 95 studies published since 1995 related to cancer-related travel and financial burdens and discusses the impact on patient health outcomes and quality of life.
Author(s): Arrianna Marie Planey, Lisa P. Spees, Caitlin B. Biddell, et al.
Citation: JNCI Cancer Spectrum, 8(5)
Date: 10/2024
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Health Care Affordability and Medical Debt: Differences by Rurality, Region, and Socio-Demographic Characteristics
Policy brief examining rural/urban differences in health care affordability and medical debt concerns. Features statistics including rates of affordability issues with breakdowns by rural and urban location, and among rural residents with breakdowns by sociodemographic characteristics.
Author(s): Ingrid Jacobson, Katie Rydberg, Mariana Tuttle, et al.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Association of Uninsured Status and Rurality with Risk of Financial Toxicity after Pediatric Trauma
Analyzes the risk of financial toxicity associated with pediatric traumatic injury for rural versus urban families. Utilizes 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample patient data. Includes data on financial toxicity associated with uninsured status, rural versus urban insurance type, and rural versus urban demographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics.
Author(s): Amulya Vadlakonda, Nam Yong Cho, Nikhil Chervu, et al.
Citation: Surgery, 176(2), 455-461
Date: 05/2024
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Associations of Medical Debt With Health Status, Premature Death, and Mortality in the US
Results of a study of 2,943 counties, to examine whether medical debt in collections is associated with population health at the county level. Includes county-level maps showing rates and median amounts of medical debt as of 2018, and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Xuesong Han, Xin Hu, Zhiyuan Zheng, Kewei Sylvia Shi, K. Robin Yabroff
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(3), e2354766
Date: 03/2024
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Material Financial Hardship and Insurance-Related Experiences among Utah's Rural and Urban Cancer Survivors
Examines material financial hardship, insurance type and suitability, insurance-related job lock, and access to care among 1,793 rural and urban cancer survivors in Utah, utilizing 2018-2021 survey data. Includes data breakdowns by race and ethnicity, treatment method, and other demographic and clinical factors.
Author(s): Heydon K. Kaddas, Morgan M. Millar, Kimberly A. Herget
Citation: Journal of Cancer Survivorship Research and Practice, 19, 1236-1243
Date: 02/2024
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