Vohra et al.: Rural Health Policy

Rural America is “much sicker” than its urban counterpart. In Designing Policy Solutions to Build a Healthier Rural America (Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics), Sameer Vohra (Southern Illinois University Medicine), Carolyn Pointer (SIU Medicine), Amanda Fogleman (SIU Medicine), Thomas Albers (SIU Medicine), Anish Patel (Georgia Law - Student), and Elizabeth Weeks (Georgia Law) summarize the state of current rural health challenges and outline a framework for policy solutions to address these geographic disparities.

Designing Policy Solutions provides a succinct overview of the health inequities between rural America and urban America. Rural Americans experience a higher incidence of complex health issues than urban residents. Rural Americans living in rural areas are more likely to die from the five leading causes of death than those living in urban areas. And, rural residents are more likely to struggle with healthcare access, both from a lack of insurance and because of under-resourced rural healthcare infrastructure.

Rather than continue a dialogue of rural dissolution or decline, however, the authors call for more national attention to rural innovation and reinvigoration. The authors highlight several current policy strategies aimed at addressing rural health challenges but also critique the overall limits of current efforts. The authors propose new reforms, including (1) a more consistent definition of “rural” for purposes of health policy, (2) new funding models to support rural hospitals, (3) rural health workforce supports, (4) new strategies for the opioid crisis, and (5) further attention to social determinants of health in rural communities, including housing quality, child development resources, and the needs of aging populations.

This digest was produced with significant contribution by Aurora Kenworthy, UNL Law Student.