Report examines how many rural Americans benefit from provisions of the Affordable Care Act
Lyons, Nebraska - Today, the Center for Rural Affairs released a new report that documents findings about how many Americans have used or benefited from particular provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Where possible, this report also estimates how many rural residents and families have used or benefited from Affordable Care Act provisions. These estimates on rural participation are unique to this report, extrapolating rural participation from general public participation data and, thereby, demonstrating the importance of these provisions to America's rural communities.
The report entitled, The Affordable Care Act: Real Help for Real Rural People, can be viewed and downloaded at: http://files.cfra.org/pdf/
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Since then numerous provisions have gone into effect or been implemented that impact health insurance coverage and provide new health care benefits for millions of Americans.
"As we have documented in a series of reports, many of these provisions are particularly applicable to rural people because of the demographics and unique economic circumstances of rural areas," said Jon Bailey, Director of Rural Research and Analysis at the Center for Rural Affairs and author of the report. "Of course, rural people and families in large numbers have also benefited from the more general provisions of the Affordable Care Act."
Key findings in the report include :
| Provision | People Helped Overall | Rural People Helped |
|---|---|---|
| Young Adults with Health Insurance | 2.5 million | 440,000 additional |
| Medicare "Donut Hole" Beneficiaries | 5.1 million seniors | 1.1 million seniors |
| Medicare Annual Wellness Checks | 2.3 million | 500,000 |
| Medicare Preventive Services | 32.5 million seniors | 6.8 million seniors |
| Preventive Services (Insured) | 54 million | 8.9 million |
| Lifting Lifetime Limits | 105 million | 17.3 million |
| Children with Pre-existing Conditions | 17 million | 3 million |
| Unreasonable Rate Increase Protection | 76 million | 12.5 million |
| Children's Preventive Services | 40 million | 6.6 million |
Note: Some individuals will qualify for more than one provision
"On March 23rd the Affordable Care Act entered its third year as the nation's fundamental public health care policy," continued Bailey. "We believe it is crucial at this time to reflect on what the Affordable Care Act really does... what it actually has to offer, especially to rural Americans who have faced stern challenges in finding and accessing quality, affordable health care coverage."
This is the 16th report in a series dealing with how health care reform and the Affordable Care Act is impacting rural America. Visit http://www.cfra.org/policy/
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