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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Uninsured and underinsured

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2023

2022

2021

2019

2018

  • Insuring Rural America: Health Insurance Challenges and Opportunities
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 07/2018
    This brief discusses a series of policy considerations in three main categories: policies related to rural insurance risk, policies related to provider networks, and policies related to rural payment rates and structures.

2015

2014

  • Health Insurance Coverage of Low-Income Rural Children Increases and Is More Continuous Following CHIP Implementation
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2014
    This study found that following the Children's Health Insurance Program's (CHIP) implementation, health insurance coverage and continuity increased among low-income children, particularly for those living in rural areas. By CHIP's maturity, coverage for rural children improved so much that their uninsured rate dropped below that of urban children.
  • The Uninsured: An Analysis by Age, Income, and Geography
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 02/2014
    This brief analyzes the rural/urban uninsured populations by age. Furthermore, we discuss the potential for age differences between rural and urban uninsured populations to drive Health Insurance Marketplace premiums upward, an effect which may be mitigated or compounded by various other factors.

2013

  • The Uninsured: An Analysis by Income and Geography
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 06/2013
    This brief reports that a larger proportion of the rural versus urban population is uninsured and low income and will be eligible for subsidized Health Insurance Marketplace coverage due to income levels and current lack of insurance.

2012

  • Health Care Access and Use Among the Rural Uninsured
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2012
    Examines whether uninsured rural residents have different patterns of healthcare use than their urban counterparts, and the factors associated with any differences.

2011

2010

2009

  • Health Insurance Profile Indicates Need to Expand Coverage in Rural Areas (Policy Brief)
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2009
    This brief provides information on the health insurance status of rural Americans, summarized from a more detailed chartbook. Analyses are based on the 2004-05 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
  • Impact of the Recession on Rural America: Rising Unemployment Leading to More Uninsured in 2009
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 06/2009
    This brief presents the results of state and county analysis of unemployment rates nationally in urban and rural (non-metropolitan) areas during the period 2007-February 2009 and discusses the impact of rising unemployment on uninsurance in rural areas.
  • Profile of Rural Health Insurance Coverage: A Chartbook
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2009
    Analyses of persons under age 65 from the 2004-05 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey reveal a greater proportion of rural vs. urban residents who are uninsured or covered through public sources. Uninsured rates are highest among adults over age 50 in the most remote rural places.
  • A Rural-Urban Comparison of a Building Blocks Approach to Covering the Uninsured
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 06/2009
    This brief uses a RUPRI health insurance model to compare the effects of a building blocks approach on health insurance coverage and health spending, focusing on the geographic differences (by metropolitan and non-metropolitan) of this approach.
  • Rural Coverage Gaps Decline Following Public Health Insurance Expansions
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2009
    This brief uses the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to compare the health insurance coverage of rural/urban residents in 1997 and 2005 to assess how uninsured rates and sources of coverage have changed since SCHIP was enacted. The authors also discuss characteristics of the rural uninsured and the implications for health insurance reform.

2007

2006

  • Out-of-Pocket Health Spending and the Rural Underinsured
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2006
    This article estimates underinsurance rates among privately insured rural residents and the characteristics associated with rural underinsurance.
  • Rural Health Research in Progress in the Rural Health Research Centers Program, 10th Edition
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2006
    This book provides policy makers with a concise source of rural health services research underway in the Rural Health Research Centers funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy and provides a context for legislation that affects rural health services and populations.
  • Rural Residents More Likely to Be Underinsured
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2006
    Studies have shown that rural residents have high uninsured rates. However, even those with private health insurance coverage can be at risk of having high out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Understanding the degree to which rural residents are underinsured has important implications for rural health policy and practice.

2005

  • The Impact of Welfare Reform on Health Insurance Coverage in Rural Areas
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 12/2005
    This policy brief explores the impact of welfare reform on the health insurance coverage of welfare recipients and other low-income persons during the period when the reform was phased in.
  • Out-of-Pocket Health Care Spending and the Rural Underinsured
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2005
    This paper reports the results of a study to identify whether and to what extent there are rural-urban differences in underinsured rates among the privately insured, and, where differences exist, to understand what characteristics of rural residents are related to their likelihood of being underinsured.

2004

2003

  • Health Insurance Coverage of The Rural and Urban Near Elderly
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2003
    This paper reports the results of a study that used data from the 1996-1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to address two principal research questions related to health insurance coverage for the rural near elderly.
  • Rural Health Research in Progress in the Rural Health Research Centers Program, 7th edition
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2003
    This book provides policy makers with a concise source of rural health services research underway in the Rural Health Research Centers funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy. It provides a context for legislation current and proposed that affects rural health services and populations.

2002

  • Diabetes and the Rural Safety Net
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2002
    This paper investigates the extent to which the rural safety net is able to meet the needs of people with diabetes.

2001

2000

1999

1998