The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

PAGES

Rural areas lead decline in Obamacare policies' enrollment

With Social Security and Medicare off the budget-cutting table, Medicaid remains, but has much political support

Open enrollment for Obamacare plans ends Tuesday, Dec. 15; rural customers have more choices than last year

Biden says Democrats forgot rural Americans: 'We have got to rebuild the middle class . . . especially in rural America'

House Agriculture Committee chair, seeking re-election in most pro-Trump Democratic district, draws strong GOP foe

Study finds reasons for lack of health-insurance competition, high cost in rural America; story has link to interactive map

Rural hospitals struggling most in states where lawmakers declined Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act

Biden unveils rural policy plan that aims to help farmers, strengthen ACA, bring green jobs, and fund broadband

Appeals court sounds likely to uphold ruling against ACA; Democrat says the law 'is the future of rural health care'

7 rural hospital CEOs in N.C. call for Medicaid expansion

Diabetes is disproportionately rural; in last 2 decades rates have declined across U.S., except in the the rural South

Judge blocks Ky.'s bid to make 'able-bodied' adults on Medicaid work, volunteer, get training or drug treatment

Vote today in Va. will make state 33rd to expand Medicaid; at least two referenda already set in other states for Nov. 6

States that expanded Medicaid tended to improve most in latest scorecard of health system performance

Oregon voters OK health taxes to keep Medicaid expansion

Rural hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid have been six times less likely to close than in states that didn't

Farmworkers getting older; many have chronic ailments and spotty health coverage; production in California slows

New projection says reauthorizing CHIP will save money in the long run; lawmakers say they're close to a deal

Update: Va. House race ruled a tie; Republican wins random drawing, preserving GOP majority

Medicaid expansion expanded coverage by 8.5% in rural areas, 4.1% in urban areas, study concludes