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Access and Affordability: Rural Nebraskans’ View of Health Care

*These reports have been peer reviewed by colleagues at the University of Nebraska. Any questions, suggestions, or concerns should be sent directly to the author(s). considerable in-kind support and contributions were provided by a number of individuals and organizations associated with the Partnership for Rural Nebraska. A special note of appreciation is extended to the staff at the Pierce County Extension Office for the space needed to conduct this survey and to the Nebraska Library Commission for use of the laptops. Executive Summary The availability, cost and quality of health care services are important issues to rural Nebraskans. How available are these services and how satisfied are they with them? Do they have health insurance? Have they experienced any medical hardships during the past year? This report details 2,915 responses to the 2004 Nebraska Rural Poll, the ninth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans' perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about health care services. ! The health care services most accessible to rural Nebraskans are a pharmacy, doctor/health clinic and dentist. Seventy-six percent report having to drive less than 15 miles to reach a pharmacy, 68 percent drive less than 15 miles for a doctor/health clinic and 66 percent drive that distance to reach a dentist. Twenty-four percent report driving more than 60 miles for specialized health care. ! Persons living in the North Central region are more likely than persons living in other regions of the state to have to drive more than 60 miles to access each health care service listed. Forty-nine percent of the residents of this region have to drive more than 60 miles for specialized health care. However, only 21 percent of the South Central residents have to drive that distance for this care. ! Rural Nebraskans are most satisfied with the following aspects of medical and mental health care services: the condition of medical facilities, care provided by their medical doctor and the variety of medical services available to them. ! Rural Nebraskans are most dissatisfied with the cost of health insurance, the cost of medical services and the coverage of health insurance. ! Younger persons are more likely than older persons to be dissatisfied with the cost of medical services. At least 70 percent of the persons under the age of 65 report being dissatisfied with the cost of medical services. However, only 56 percent of the persons age 65 and …