Medicaid covers a large portion of U.S. rural residents, with this population facing many health disparities and care barriers.
Here are eight statistics on Medicaid coverage in rural areas based on Kaiser Family Foundation 2015 data.
1. Medicaid covered 24 percent on the non- elderly in rural areas in 2015. Other public insurance covered 4 percent of this population and private insurance covered 61 percent. Twelve percent of non-elderly residents in rural areas lacked insurance.
2. California and Hawaii ranked among the six states with the largest difference in Medicaid coverage rates between rural and urban or other areas.
3. In California, Medicaid covered 37 percent of the rural population, 21 percent of the urban population and 28 percent of other areas.
4. Medicaid covered 28 percent of Hawaii's rural population and 15 percent of other geographic areas in the state.
5. Medicaid covered more rural residents in 2015 than 2013 for expansion states. In 2013, Medicaid covered 21 percent of the rural population, with this figure jumping to 24 percent in 2015.
6. In non-Medicaid expansion states, the program covered 20 percent of the non-elderly population in 2013. This figure was 21 percent in 2015.
7. Non-Medicaid expansion states housed 59 percent of the non-elderly uninsured residents in rural areas.
8. Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, and Virginia recently enacted legislation related to expanding Medicaid. Of these four states' residents, almost 25 percent or more of their non-elderly population lives in rural areas.