Rural Health

Latest California Healthline Stories

States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities

A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.

Rural Communities Left Hurting Without a Hospital, Ambulance or Doctors Nearby

Rural areas such as Echols County, Georgia, have high levels of uninsured people and profound physician shortages that compound the lack of health care options, especially in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.

Local Pharmacists Fill Rx Void as Big Brands Pull Out of Rural Areas

Stores like Walmart and Shopko opened pharmacies in small towns, either buying out the local pharmacy or driving it out of business. What happens when those chains later withdraw, leaving communities with no pharmacy?

Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America

Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.