In an opinion piece published by the Houston Chronicle, the president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas wrote that healthcare delivery systems in rural parts of the state are "on life-support or nonexistent."
Here are four takeaways from the op-ed:
1. In Texas, nearly 20 percent of the state's population resides in rural areas. More than half — 170 — of Texas' 254 counties are rural.
2. Residents of these communities tend to be older, less healthy and have less access to healthcare than urban and suburban Texans, Dan McCoy, president of BCBSTX, wrote in the Dec. 21 op-ed. For example, 35 counties have no physician; 80 counties have five or fewer physicians; and 58 Texas counties don't have a general surgeon.
3. In addition, more than 20 rural hospitals have closed in the state in recent years, with another 60 percent of the 164 remaining hospitals at-risk of closure, he wrote, citing data from the A&M Rural and Community Health Institute. Mr. McCoy said rural healthcare needs a "moonshot" to combat these changes.
4. "We must think beyond asking 'how do we save the local the hospital' or 'how do we translocate urban healthcare solutions to rural Texas?'" he wrote. "Instead, we must reimagine the entire rural healthcare ecosystem to connect the dots from telehealth and new types of healthcare workers to potential partnerships and healthcare delivery tools."
For the full opinion piece, click here.