Rural/Urban Disparities in the Utilization of Health and Behavioral Assessments/Interventions in the Fee-for-Service Medicare Population

Overview of Key Findings In 2016, rural county residents represented 21.8% of the fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare population, but only 1.6% of rural FFS beneficiaries live in a county with local utilization of Health and Behavioral Assessments and Interventions (HBAI) services. Utilization of HBAI services in 2016 occurred in 19 (9.7%) rural counties and 176 (90.3%) urban counties. Average utilization rates of HBAI services were higher in rural counties than urban counties (0.7% vs. 0.4%).