Between Promises and Practice: The Future of Rural Healthcare

Will Federal Policy and the Current Administration Help Boost the Rural Health Workforce?

By Carlos Carale | TheCHANGEproject fellow 25'

The Unseen Struggles of Rural Healthcare

Rural America is an important cog in the American system. It meets the agricultural and nutritional needs of many. It is home to a significant portion of Americans. It is a place of opportunity, growth, and community. However, access to healthcare has always been an ongoing issue that many rural families endure. 

Rural communities across America are subject to unique health inequities due to various social determinants of health. Social determinants of health are the various non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, such as economic, educational, transportation, environmental, and social factors. In rural communities, a community’s local economy, transportation, work conditions, and even physical geography have an important role in helping or hindering health. These differences create inequities that are not seen in urban settings.  These inequities include an increased risk of physical, chronic conditions such as stroke, heart disease, cancer, and lung disease in addition to an increased risk of unintentional injury. Mental health issues and the risk of suicide are also needs that are not often addressed in rural areas. Many rural families struggle to find primary and specialty care without having to drive long distances away from their homes. One of the biggest contributing factors to this issue is the shortage of rural providers. 12% of medical providers practice in rural areas while rural America accounts for 15-20% of the population.

Federal Promises and the Reality on the Ground

Rural America should be thinking about how the current administration will help solve this issue. During the Biden- Harris administration, several initiatives were enacted by their office in the hope of bolstering the rural health workforce. This included investing in the nursing workforce, increasing rural residency training opportunities, providing $28 million in grant opportunities for rural health services, and funding $16 million in grants for technical assistance for hospitals in financial distress. 

Despite the current administration’s effort to improve public health through the “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives, I believe that the current administration is not poised to help rural medical staff. The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency have quickly lowered governmental spending, affecting governmental departments across the nation. Massive federal workforce layoffs have hit the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veteran Affairs, which may have a downstream effect on rural populations. This fiscal conservatism may signify that the current administration may not be willing to invest federal money to help rural healthcare workers. 

Why Policy Must Prioritize Rural Communities

Federal policy plays an important role in bolstering the workforce nationwide. The federal government should be an entity that provides protection and stabilization to rural hospitals on the brink of closure. 

Rural Americans deserve access to consistent, quality healthcare. It is important to monitor the current administration’s actions closely. While efforts to “Make America Healthy Again” may seem like actions that will help rural medicine, underlying or competing efforts from the Trump administration can have downstream effects that harshly affect rural communities. Congress and the Executive departments must continue to invest in rural health care workers and the rural infrastructure to truly make America healthy.