Access and Capacity to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Health Clinics

Date
12/2019
Description

Access to timely, high-quality healthcare is essential for health, but rural areas face particular barriers to access, including for primary care. However, there is limited information on access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas, specifically care received in Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), which are safety net clinics designed to increase access to care for rural residents. This policy brief presents findings from an online survey of RHCs describing clinic data and characteristics related to healthcare access and capacity for Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas.

Center
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Authors
Megan Lahr, Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley Hernandez, Hannah Neprash