Dive Brief:
- HHS circulated an analysis Friday concluding the Affordable Care Act has "dramatically" benefited rural Americans.
- The analysis found health coverage in rural counties to have gone up 8% from late 2013 to early 2015, and found the percentage of rural Americans unable to afford care to have gone down by nearly 6%.
- While touting the progress achieved so far in rural communities, the HHS argued far more could be made if more states choose to expand Medicaid. Currently 19 states remain hold-outs against expansion.
Dive Insight:
Even though rural Americans disproportionately live in non-expansion states, they have increased their coverage comparably to their metropolitan counterparts due to the nationwide availability of the health insurance marketplaces and federal tax subsidies that help make premiums more affordable, the HHS said.
It found that just among the HealthCare.gov states, 1.7 million rural Americans enrolled in coverage for 2016, an 11% increase from 2015. It added that for nearly 9 in 10 rural enrollees eligible for premium tax credits, premiums only went up 4% from 2015 and 2016--though the numbers for next year could prove tougher to swallow, and averages may do little to illustrate regional variations that impact some far more than others.
Rural Americans have also benefitted from the ACA's requirements, HHS said, including coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.
“The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of people in rural areas access quality, affordable health coverage,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a prepared statement. “As someone from rural America, I know how important these gains in coverage and access to care are to communities like my hometown of Hinton, West Virginia.”