Patients living in rural areas continue to face barriers that disrupt their care

More than a quarter of Americans living in rural areas report they often delay or skip treatment because of challenges accessing and affording healthcare.

A recent national poll from the PAN Foundation’s Center for Patient Research finds that more than half of Americans who live in rural areas (54 percent) experience barriers to healthcare, most commonly high cost (27 percent) and difficulty finding nearby providers (24 percent). These barriers to care lead many rural Americans to forgo treatment, with 26 percent frequently delaying or skipping care.

Other key findings

• Over a quarter of rural Americans (27 percent) travel more than 30 miles on average for medical care.
• Nearly 1 in 5 rural Americans (18 percent) say limited insurance plan options or network restrictions greatly affect their ability to get care.
• Less than half of rural Americans (45 percent) report having reliable internet and feeling comfortable using telehealth, while 19 percent report access and internet reliability issues and 36 percent report only using in-person care.

“This new polling highlights the ongoing challenges people living in rural America face when trying to access and afford the healthcare they need,” said Amy Niles, Chief Mission Officer at the PAN Foundation. “Whether it’s high costs, ongoing provider shortages, having to travel long distances for care, or a lack of reliable, high-speed internet to access telehealth care, patients living in rural areas often encounter more challenges in accessing care than those living in suburban or urban areas. That’s why at the PAN Foundation we’re working towards a future where equitable, accessible healthcare is a reality for everyone—regardless of where they live, their income, or their background.”

Resources

• PAN’s policy position on making healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone 
• PAN’s policy position on making telehealth flexibilities permanent 

Polling methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between February 25 – 27, 2026, among 2,095 adults (aged 18 and over), including 372 who live in a rural area. The survey was administered by The Harris Poll on behalf of PAN Foundation via its Harris On Demand omnibus product. Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and political party affiliation, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ± 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

About the PAN Foundation 

As a leading charitable foundation and healthcare advocacy organization, the PAN Foundation is dedicated to accelerating access to treatment for those who need it most and empowering patients on their healthcare journeys. We provide critical financial assistance for treatment costs, advocate for policy solutions that expand access to care, and deliver education on complex topics—all driven by our belief that everyone deserves access to affordable, equitable healthcare.

Since 2004, our financial assistance programs have helped more than 1.3 million people to start or stay on life-changing treatment. In addition, we’ve achieved major policy victories that increase access to care, mobilized patient advocates to call for change, and educated people nationwide on critical healthcare-related topics. We’re committed to working towards a future where equitable health outcomes are a reality for all. To learn more, visit panfoundation.org.