Health Care Access Among Self-Employed Workers in Nonmetropolitan Counties

Access to health care involves affordability, which is often tied to health insurance coverage, as well as availability of health care facilities and providers. Self-employed workers are less likely to have access to employer-sponsored health insurance plans, and rural areas may have fewer options for local health care. Through the lens of availability and affordability, this report studies health care access for self-employed individuals, their families, and their households in nonmetropolitan counties, using data collected between 2014 and 2020. The results indicate that health insurance coverage rates and sources differ more by age and whether workers are self-employed than by whether they live in a metro or nonmetro location.