Access is the opposite side of the health insurance coverage coverage coin. The importance of access cannot be ignored, particularly in rural communities. The greatest health insurance in the world is less valuable without access to medical services. An Oklahoma State University report puts a different spin on rural access. It looks at the economic effect of primary care physicians and primary care services in rural communities, making the need for more rural health care providers an economic development cause.

The findings are intriguing.

One full-time primary care physician generates, on average, about $1.5 million in revenue, nearly $1 million in payroll, and creates or helps create 23 jobs. The physician’s economic contributions are direct and indirect. People come to or stay in town for medical services and obtaining other services or shop rather than travel to an urban area.

As health reform legislation takes its path through Congress we must be clear that both sides of the coin are equally valuable to rural people. In the words of our friends at the National Rural Health Association: Health Insurance does not equal Health Care Access.

Contact: Jon Bailey, jonb@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1013 for more information.