According to the CDC, more than 61 million Americans live in rural areas. Rural residents tend to be older and in poorer health than their urban counterparts and rural communities often face challenges with access to care, financial viability and the important link between health care and economic development.
Advancing Rural Health Equity outlines the various ways that CMS has gone the extra mile over the past year to meet the needs of rural populations, outlining activities across ten areas of particular importance to rural health. Among the areas included are Medicare, quality, long-term services and supports, the rural health workforce, mental health and substance use disorders, maternal health and COVID-19.
Additionally, recently released is the CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities, which builds on the previously released Rural Health Strategy and aligns with the CMS Framework for Health Equity 2022 – 2032 to improve health equity and reduce disparities.
Additional Resources:
- Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Care in Medicare – describes rural-urban differences in health care experiences and clinical care received nationally.
- Advancing Rural Maternal Health Equity Report – provides a high-level summary of the activities that the CMS Office of Minority Health implemented to address maternal health disparities between June 2019 and November 2021 as a part of its Rural Maternal Health Initiative.