ACA enrollment slower in Ohio rural areas, feds say

In the three years since the launch of the ACA insurance marketplace, the number of people with insurance has significantly grown in all parts of Ohio except rural areas, federal officials say (Source: “Rural areas lag in health care sign-up,” Newark Advocate, Jan. 8, 2015).

With open enrollment ending Jan. 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that there has been a drastic reduction in the uninsured in big cities, but no growth among enrollees in rural areas. Only 21 percent of eligible rural residents in Ohio have signed up, according to the USDA's Rural Development State Director Tony Logan.

"Ohio is the third lowest in rural enrollment in the country," Logan said. "We are trying to improve our outreach. A lot of it is misunderstanding. There are people who can lead you through the entire sign-up."