Rural-Urban Healthcare Access Gap: It’s All About The Fixed Costs

Rural U.S. healthcare access challenges hinge on covering medical practices' fixed costs in areas of lower demand. Government response, creating 'Critical Access Hospitals' in rural, low population-density areas, resulted in overrun supply and low-quality, high-cost care. Solutions should refocus on essential rural needs like primary care, satellite outpatient-only hospitals, and lifting regulatory limitations on telehealth and pharmacies.

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