Like many other problems that affect rural areas, the healthcare system is more of a priority for democrats than republicans. Universal healthcare is not even a discussion among republicans, the affordable care act was criticized and used as a scapegoat for years, and republican support of all things big-business keep any progress from being made in reducing costs from medical providers and retailers. Broadly, few rural U.S. residents support government involvement in healthcare or and a little less than half of republicans support ensuring that all Americans have healthcare coverage, whether it be “free,” or not.
In the midst of all this, rural republicans suffer greatly from a lack of healthcare with more than a quarter of them reporting to be unable to access healthcare at some point in the last few years and 50% of them reporting that costs have been a serious problem for their finances. Without getting more republicans on board, what are some solutions to rural Americans facing a lack of healthcare coverage? What are some ideas republicans could get behind?
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