Rural Healthcare Shortage Explained by Dr. Eric Bricker

Approximately twenty percent of the United States population lives in rural areas. That is about sixty six million people. Yet only nine percent of doctors practice in rural America, creating a serious shortage of medical care.

This shortage contributes to a death rate that is roughly twenty percent higher in rural communities than in more populated areas. The gap is especially visible in maternity care, where half of all counties have no obstetric services at all. In other words, pregnant women in those areas have no access to an Ob Gyn in their county.

To help address this long standing problem, the federal government created the Rural Health Clinic designation in the nineteen seventies. Rural Health Clinics receive higher reimbursement in exchange for using Nurse Practitioners or Physician Associates and maintaining lab services. In 2025, Rural Health Clinics are paid one hundred fifty two dollars per visit, rising to one hundred sixty five dollars per visit in 2026, with additional increases already planned.

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