As rural Americans struggle for health care access, insurers may be making things worse

Abstract: Rural communities face growing infrastructure problems like decaying water systems. And they have more limited access to amenities ranging from grocery stores to movie theaters, lower quality schools, and less access to high-speed internet. Yet perhaps most daunting are the tremendous health disparities rural Americans face, in terms of both their own health and accessing care. As a number of my recent studies indicate, these disparities may be exacerbated by insurance carriers and the networks they put together for their consumers.