The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families just released a report exploring the impact of Medicaid funding cuts on small towns and rural areas.

Key findings include:

• Non-elderly adults and children in small towns and rural areas are more likely than those living in metro areas to rely on Medicaid/CHIP for their health insurance. As a consequence, reductions in federal Medicaid funding being contemplated in Congress are more likely to cause greater harm to rural areas and small towns than metro areas.
  • For children this is especially true in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, California, Minnesota, Georgia, South Dakota, and Alaska.
  • For adults this is especially true in Arizona, New York, Washington, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon, South Carolina and Montana.
  • For people over age 65, the rate of Medicaid coverage is slightly lower in rural areas than metro ones.
• In six states, at least half of children living in small towns and rural areas are covered by Medicaid/CHIP. These include New Mexico (59.9%), Louisiana (57.7%), Arizona (55.9%), Florida (51.9%), South Carolina (51.1%), and Arkansas (50.5%).
• In fifteen states, at least one-fifth of non-elderly adults living in small towns and rural areas are covered by Medicaid. These include Arizona (35.9%), New York (33.9%), New Mexico (31.6%), Louisiana (30.2%), Kentucky (28.5%), West Virginia (25.5%), Oregon (24.9%), Washington (24.4%), Montana (22.2%), Arkansas (22.0%), Maine (21.9%), Vermont (21.7%), Massachusetts (21.5%), Michigan (21.2%), and Alaska (20.4%).
• Residents of rural counties with a large share of American Indian or Alaska Native residents and tribal lands are more likely to rely on Medicaid for coverage for all age groups, including seniors.

Read the full report HERE.

Source: Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families