My thoughts on "Health Status and Health Care Access of Farm and Rural Populations"

        I will first admit that my knowledge of our country's healthcare system and politics in general is limited. I think to a certain measure I purposefully ignore it because every time i do take a moment to listen in on what's going on with our country's policies it is more times than not upsetting. But anyways, after reading the article assigned I gained some insight on the contrast between healthcare coverage of rural and farming households verses urban and non-farm operated households.
     
        As the article states, "The recently identified gap between metro and nonmetro mortality rates opened in 1990 and has widened continually since then." Part of the reason for this is because of the nature of the environment these households are in. Farmers are much more prone to fatality or injury because of the harsh conditions they work in, the dangerous chemicals they are exposed to, and the dangerous equipment they use in order to carry out the duties of their job. Obviously people in more urban and suburban areas don't encounter these same kind of scenarios in their lives.
     
        The article then continues on with giving statistical information about the socioeconomic status and health risks of non-metro populations. Apparently, "The nonmetro population is older, is less likely to be from a minority group, and has lower education and income levels than the metro population.". Naturally mortality rates are higher because of this. Also, for whatever reason non-metro non-elderly households are paying more for healthcare than their metro counterparts despite their incomes being lower. Why hasn't their been an adjustment in healthcare expenses for lower income, rural populations? Non-metro households are less educated, have higher mortality rates, and earn lower wages than metro populations. Why hasn't any federal program intervened to fix this issue?
     
        While lack of healthcare is a problem across the board for the U.S., many things could be implemented to fix these issues, especially in rural, low income households.