Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.
2024 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Provides a comprehensive summary and data analysis of healthcare quality and access in the U.S. Addresses access to healthcare, care affordability, healthy living, effective treatment, person-centered care, care coordination, and more.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Provides a comprehensive summary and data analysis of healthcare quality and access in the U.S. Addresses access to healthcare, care affordability, healthy living, effective treatment, person-centered care, care coordination, and more.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Availability of Higher-Level Neonatal Care Services in Rural US Counties, 2010-2022
Policy brief showing changes in availability of higher-level neonatal care in rural counties from 2010 to 2022, and how this availability differs by rural county type. Features statistics with breakdowns by all rural, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Emily C. Sheffield, Julia D. Interrante, et al.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Policy brief showing changes in availability of higher-level neonatal care in rural counties from 2010 to 2022, and how this availability differs by rural county type. Features statistics with breakdowns by all rural, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Emily C. Sheffield, Julia D. Interrante, et al.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Current and Maximum Acceptable Travel Times to Primary Care Among US Older Adults
Explores the threshold of travel time at which it becomes a barrier to primary care access and for which groups. Uses data from a study conducted in February 2025 of adults age 50 and older. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban, suburban, and rural or other areas.
Author(s): Tabasa Ozawa, Ying Liu, Soeren Mattke
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2545280
Date: 11/2025
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Explores the threshold of travel time at which it becomes a barrier to primary care access and for which groups. Uses data from a study conducted in February 2025 of adults age 50 and older. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban, suburban, and rural or other areas.
Author(s): Tabasa Ozawa, Ying Liu, Soeren Mattke
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2545280
Date: 11/2025
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Positive Outliers: How Some Rural Communities Maintain Access to Labor and Delivery Services
Explores healthcare providers' approaches to ensuring maternal care access in rural Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Mississippi. Provides case studies on the role of rural hospitals and clinics in providing labor and delivery services, discusses financial and logistical challenges faced by providers, and details funding, policy, and service delivery strategies supporting continued access.
Author(s): Sarah Klein, Molly Castle Work
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Bassett Research Institute, Commonwealth Fund
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Explores healthcare providers' approaches to ensuring maternal care access in rural Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Mississippi. Provides case studies on the role of rural hospitals and clinics in providing labor and delivery services, discusses financial and logistical challenges faced by providers, and details funding, policy, and service delivery strategies supporting continued access.
Author(s): Sarah Klein, Molly Castle Work
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Bassett Research Institute, Commonwealth Fund
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Greater Physician Supply Associated with Lower Mortality in Rural Counties: A 23-Year County-Level Longitudinal Observational Study
Examines the relationship between increasing the primary care physician supply in rural areas and corresponding mortality rates. Provides data from a study conducted between 1992-2014 and analyzes rural versus urban trends in mortality rates and physician supply. Discusses rural healthcare practitioner workforce needs, rural versus urban healthcare disparities, and access to care.
Author(s): Nasim B. Ferdows, Cyrus Kosar, Orestis Panagiotou, Momotazur Rahman
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 62
Date: 10/2025
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Examines the relationship between increasing the primary care physician supply in rural areas and corresponding mortality rates. Provides data from a study conducted between 1992-2014 and analyzes rural versus urban trends in mortality rates and physician supply. Discusses rural healthcare practitioner workforce needs, rural versus urban healthcare disparities, and access to care.
Author(s): Nasim B. Ferdows, Cyrus Kosar, Orestis Panagiotou, Momotazur Rahman
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 62
Date: 10/2025
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Many Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Managed Care Plans Have Limited Behavioral Health Provider Networks and Inactive Providers
Examines the availability of behavioral health providers in selected Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicaid managed care networks in 2023. Analyzes provider network lists and MA and Medicaid encounter data for four MA and two Medicaid managed care plans from 10 selected urban and rural counties across five states. Describes the proportion of the behavioral health workforce in each county included in the plans' networks. Discusses the extent to which managed care plans had inactive providers in their network and why these providers did not deliver services to enrollees. Includes data on the percentage of inactive providers in rural and urban counties. Offers recommendations to monitor and improve the accuracy of provider networks.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Examines the availability of behavioral health providers in selected Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicaid managed care networks in 2023. Analyzes provider network lists and MA and Medicaid encounter data for four MA and two Medicaid managed care plans from 10 selected urban and rural counties across five states. Describes the proportion of the behavioral health workforce in each county included in the plans' networks. Discusses the extent to which managed care plans had inactive providers in their network and why these providers did not deliver services to enrollees. Includes data on the percentage of inactive providers in rural and urban counties. Offers recommendations to monitor and improve the accuracy of provider networks.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Beyond the Clinic Walls: Exploring the Potential of Mobile Health
Explores the use mobile health services to increase access to care and highlights opportunities to close evidence gaps. Summarizes the research on mobile health delivery in primary, specialty, and emergency care. Discusses rural concerns including for breast cancer screening, dentistry, acute stroke response, behavioral crisis interventions, and community paramedicine.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Julia Burleson, Leila Sullivan
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy
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Explores the use mobile health services to increase access to care and highlights opportunities to close evidence gaps. Summarizes the research on mobile health delivery in primary, specialty, and emergency care. Discusses rural concerns including for breast cancer screening, dentistry, acute stroke response, behavioral crisis interventions, and community paramedicine.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Julia Burleson, Leila Sullivan
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy
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Supporting Rural Health Facilities
Discusses strategies pursued by states to strengthen the financial stability of rural hospitals and expand access to primary care, behavioral healthcare, and emergency care. Describes state policies related to technical assistance, financial stabilization grants, payment models, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), health centers, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), and freestanding emergency departments.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Discusses strategies pursued by states to strengthen the financial stability of rural hospitals and expand access to primary care, behavioral healthcare, and emergency care. Describes state policies related to technical assistance, financial stabilization grants, payment models, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), health centers, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), and freestanding emergency departments.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Health Insurance Coverage in Rural and Urban Areas in the U.S., 2023
Describes the health insurance status of United States residents in 2023, with breakdowns by age groups and urban or rural location. Uses data from the 2024 American Community Survey.
Author(s): Sarah Eisenstein, Xiaoyu Huang, Timothy McBride, Keith Mueller
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Describes the health insurance status of United States residents in 2023, with breakdowns by age groups and urban or rural location. Uses data from the 2024 American Community Survey.
Author(s): Sarah Eisenstein, Xiaoyu Huang, Timothy McBride, Keith Mueller
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Disparities in Multi-Modal Spatial Access to Primary and Specialty Care in U.S. Neighborhoods: A Cross-Sectional and Temporal Analysis of Health Services
Provides a multi-modal spatial access measure to examine disparities in access to primary and specialty care across variable geographies. Includes data on spatial access to providers according to metro, micro, small town, or rural location as well as an example of a car-transit-walking composite spatial access map in micropolitan areas of Maine.
Author(s): R. Blake Buchalter, Paul R. Gunsalus, Madeleine M. Blazel, Michael W. Kenyhercz, Jarrod E. Dalton
Citation: PL0S One, 20(9), e0330427
Date: 09/2025
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Provides a multi-modal spatial access measure to examine disparities in access to primary and specialty care across variable geographies. Includes data on spatial access to providers according to metro, micro, small town, or rural location as well as an example of a car-transit-walking composite spatial access map in micropolitan areas of Maine.
Author(s): R. Blake Buchalter, Paul R. Gunsalus, Madeleine M. Blazel, Michael W. Kenyhercz, Jarrod E. Dalton
Citation: PL0S One, 20(9), e0330427
Date: 09/2025
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