Biden-Harris Administration Releases New Report that Shows Gains in Health Care Coverage for Rural Americans

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new report today showing that President Biden and Vice President Harris’s efforts to strengthen access to health care are linked to historic gains in rural Americans’ health insurance coverage. The report from HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) highlights current enrollment trends and challenges in rural America. HHS programs provide health coverage to millions of rural Americans: almost three million HealthCare.gov enrollees, more than 12 million Medicaid enrollees, and more than 14 million Medicare enrollees live in rural areas.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making sure that rural Americans are not left behind,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “HHS has taken many steps to invest in rural America, including helping rural hospitals stay open, investing in the health workforce, and extending mental health and substance use disorder support services. Now, we have new evidence that President Biden and Vice President Harris’ policies have made a difference when it comes to access to health care. We know that our actions are working and that more people have coverage – and the peace of mind that comes with it.”

Key data from the ASPE report include the following:

• Rural enrollees in Marketplace coverage are disproportionately benefitting from the improvements to the ACA enacted in the Biden-Harris Administration.  The improvements in the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act are saving rural enrollees an average of almost $1,000 per year, about 28% more than their urban counterparts.
• Since the Affordable Care Act became law the uninsured rate for rural Americans has dropped from 23.8% in 2010 to 12.6% in 2023 (about three million people).
• Almost 30 percent of rural residents were uninsured in states that have not adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion versus less than 11 percent in states that have.
• Rural Americans who buy their health coverage through healthcare.gov will see their costs go up by an average of $87 every month if congressional inaction takes away a tax credit from struggling families.

The full report is available at https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/health-care-rural-america.