Iowa study shows rural workers pay more of their income for employer-provided health coverage

Rural Iowans with employer-based health insurance contribute a higher percentage of their income to health insurance and pay higher deductibles, and their neighbors are less likely to have such insurance available, conducted by David P. Lind & Associates for the University of Iowa's College of Public Health.

"They're purchasing greatly reduced benefits: higher deductible plans, higher co-pays," study author David Lind told Adam Belz of the Des Moines Register. "The rural employee is now being asked, on average, to pay almost $1,500 in deductibles for single coverage, versus their urban counterparts, at $1,100."

James Merchant, director of the Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence at the College of Public Health, told Belz, "It's not clear why rural health costs are outpacing urban costs. Some theories are the aging population in rural counties and the slightly higher prevalence of obesity, but those factors aren't conclusive."

Lind predicts rural and urban employees will see large increases in premiums and deductibles over the next decade. By 2020, the average rural worker, now spending 10 percent of income on health premiums, may spend 22 percent for coverage, Belz reports.