Michigan Rural Council

Health care and its associated costs represent a large financial concern for many Americans and specifically for rural Americans.  Residents in rural communities represent 16% of the population, but pay up to 40% of the health care costs.  According to a report by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, premium prices will likely increase 14% in 2011 for employees and employer contributions will decrease by 1%.  The uninsured face a high risk of financial distress; 60% of bankruptcies are linked to medical bills, and half of foreclosures are related to medical bills. This distress is not just related to the uninsured, as 75% of people with a medically related bankruptcy had health insurance.

While rural Michigan gentrifies, there is also a shortage of primary care physicians.  The “backbone of the rural health care system” is in “crisis” says a report by the Michigan Center for Rural Health. The report explains: “The primary care shortage is having a critical impact on rural access to healthcare.”  With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, leaders across the country are facing the challenge of ensuring that the infrastructure is in place to support the increase in demand.  The shape that new federal legislation will take and how it will impact the most vulnerable populations, is largely dependent on state-level response to these challenges.

In Michigan, the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) provides and coordinates a number of essential services to rural communities including providing continuing education to health care providers, collecting and disseminating information concerning rural health issues, providing grant writing assistance/support for the development of rural health services, operating a comprehensive recruitment and retention program of health care providers and acting as an advocate between state and federal agencies and rural communities.

The Michigan Rural Council will:

• Work collaboratively with MCRH related to rural health activities that are critically needed, and will help disseminate information to Council members in order to inform rural communities on policy activities.