The Washington Post

By: Jose A. DelReal

The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion disproportionately benefited rural Americans over their urban counterparts, according to a new report, and President Trump’s proposed cuts to the program could negatively affect millions of them who have come to rely on it for coverage.

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The ACA, better known as “Obamacare,” led to an 11 percent decrease in the number of uninsured rural Americans in states that chose to participate in Medicaid expansion, a linchpin of the law, according to the new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

The report also notes that the share of rural children who rely on Medicaid for coverage is higher than in urban areas. In 2015, the report states, 45 percent of children living in small town America were enrolled in Medicaid. That compares to 38 percent of urban children. The report states that 16 percent of rural adults and 15 percent of urban adults received health coverage through Medicaid.

“The role of Medicaid in small towns and rural areas grew considerably between 2008-2009 and 2014-2015 and contributed to a reduction in the total number of uninsured,” write the report’s authors.

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