Uninsured rural families.

Context: Although research shows higher uninsured rates among rural versus urban individuals, prior studies are limited because they do not examine coverage across entire rural families.

Purpose: This study uses the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to compare rural and urban insurance coverage within families, to inform the design of coverage expansions that build on the current rural health insurance system.

Methods: We pooled the 2001 and 2002 MEPS Household Component survey, aggregated to the family level (excluding households with all members 65 and older).

Use of critical access hospital emergency rooms by patients with mental health symptoms.

Context: National data demonstrate that mental health (MH) visits to the emergency room (ER) comprise a small, but not inconsequential, proportion of all visits; however, we lack a rural picture of this issue.

Purpose: This study investigates the use of critical access hospital (CAH) ERs by patients with MH problems to understand the role these facilities play in rural MH needs and the challenges they face.

Methods: Primary data were collected through the combination of a telephone survey and ER visit logs.