Key Facts About Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Areas

(By Nancy Ochieng, Alex Cottrill, Juliette Cubanski, and Tricia Neuman for The Kaiser Family Foundation Published: Jun 11, 2025)

Over the years, policymakers have expressed ongoing concern about barriers to medical care in rural areas, due to workforce shortages, long travel times to medical facilities, and rural hospital closures. For the more than 10 million people with Medicare who live in rural areas, both older adults and younger beneficiaries with permanent disabilities, these issues may pose particular challenges to the extent they are more likely than other people to have medical conditions that require frequent visits to health care providers. Compounding existing challenges to the delivery of health care in rural areas, current proposals by the GOP-led Congress to cut billions in Medicaid spending and discontinue enhanced subsidies for Marketplace coverage could impact the financial stability of rural hospitals and other health care providers, which could heighten concerns about access to care for rural residents, including millions of people with Medicare. Continue reading here…

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