Research Alert: January 14, 2026

Access to Health Care by Rurality and Disability Status

People with disabilities face challenges with finding accessible transportation, barriers in access to quality care, as well as increased financial burdens. Although access to care is a population health concern, there is less research on how access varies at the intersection of rurality and disability status. This policy brief examines various financial and non-financial barriers to health care access among rural and urban individuals by disability status.

Key Findings:

• Compared to adults without disabilities, adults with disabilities were more likely to report barriers to accessing health care, among nine of 11 barriers examined, regardless of location.
• Some access barriers were more likely to be reported by urban residents compared to rural residents. Compared to rural residents without disabilities, urban residents without disabilities were more likely to report five out of the 11 barriers, and urban residents with disabilities were more likely to report two of the 11 barriers compared to rural residents with disabilities.
• Among non-financial barriers, over 11% of rural people with disabilities and over 15% of urban people with disabilities delayed care due to appointment availability, and almost 16% of rural people with disabilities and 14% of urban people with disabilities delayed care due to lack of transportation.
• Among financial barriers, over 12% of both rural and urban people with disabilities delayed care due to cost and reported not being able to afford needed prescription medication.
• Approximately 18% of rural and urban people without disabilities and over 26% of rural and urban people with disabilities delayed dental care due to cost.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More FORHP-funded research on Disabilities
• More information about the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center