Three words are commonly repeated to describe rural America and its inhabitants. These are the elderly, the sick, and the poor.
Clearly, there's a lot more going on in this country's towns than that well-worn stereotype suggests.However, new reports Faculty of Agriculture's economic research services It lends credence to the “more unpleasant” parts of this metaphor.
Rural Americans between the ages of 25 and 54, considered the primary working-age population, are much more likely to die from natural causes such as chronic disease and cancer than their urban counterparts, the report says. They are said to be dying at a high rate.
USDA researchers analyzed U.S. mortality data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The data covers two three-year periods: 1999-2001 and 2017-2019. In 1999, the natural mortality rate for rural working-age adults was only 2. 6 percent higher than their urban peers. By 2019, the gap had widened; 43 percent.
This disparity was significantly worse for women, especially Native American women. This gap underscores how persistent difficulties in accessing health care and a calm response from national leaders can undermine the fabric of rural communities.
Possible link with Medicaid
USDA researchers and other experts say Southern states that have rejected Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act have some of the highest natural death rates in rural areas. did. However, the researchers were unable to pinpoint the cause of the overall difference.
Seven of the 10 states that haven't expanded Medicaid are in the South, but that could change soon. Some lawmakers are reconsidering their opposition.as KFF Health News previously reported.
The USDA findings were shocking but not surprising, he said. alan morganCEO of National Rural Health Association. He and other health experts have long argued that rural America needs more attention and investment in its health care system from national leaders and lawmakers.
Another recent report by health analytics and consulting firm Chartis identified 418 rural hospitals as having: “We are susceptible to closures.” Congress seeks to slow the collapse of local health infrastructure. Designation of local emergency hospitalbecame available last year.
The new classification was intended to prevent some facilities from closing in small towns by allowing hospitals to discontinue many inpatient services. But what attracted me to this point was just about twenty oneOf the hundreds of hospitals that meet the criteria.
Things are unlikely to have improved for people in rural America since 2019, the last year of the period studied by USDA researchers. The coronavirus pandemic has been particularly devastating to the country's rural areas.
Morgan wondered, “How wide is inequality today?” Morgan said Congress should direct the CDC to study life expectancy in rural America before and after the pandemic. “COVID-19 has profoundly changed the nature of public health in rural America.”
Current status of the National Rural Health Association rights advocacy activities These policies include increasing funding for a variety of initiatives focused on strengthening local health workforces, maintaining rural hospitals and maternity services, expanding physician training, and tackling opioids. , including gathering support in Congress.
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