Twenty-four percent of households in rural America reported they were unable to receive care for serious medical problems during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and National Public Radio. Forty-six percent of rural households report using telehealth since the beginning of the pandemic, and 53% report someone in their household has a chronic illness. Additionally, nearly half of the surveyed rural households report facing serious financial problems during the pandemic. Thirty percent say they’ve spent all or most of their savings, and 10% started the pandemic without any savings at all.
Rural Reporter