Health summit focused on rural youth is underway in south central Minnesota Wednesday

It's being hosted at Minnesota State University in Mankato, where professor Brooke Burk says rural communities face unique health challenges that are not sustainable.

"Access to health for folks living in rural areas is a challenge," Burk explains. "Many folks will drive a couple hours just to get access to health resources."

An analysis from the Minnesota Department of Human Services last year showed as many as 140,000 residents will lose their health coverage due to federal Medicaid cuts, adding to the issues in rural areas of Minnesota.

Burk says there continues to be a collaborative focus a overall youth health in the state.

"We are serving a younger population and if we can really synergize the work that we are doing to support those younger folks, then it will move on up throughout their lifetime," Burk adds.

Close to 200 people are expected to attend the event. Burk says many people in rural areas of the state face unsustainable barriers than people in the more populated metro area.

"It's also access to other resources as well, whether it's food or leisure and after school care and services," she said. "It's not as necessarily readily available in those rural areas than it is in more urban areas."

New research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health shows rural hospitals are already in a precarious position.

The analysis showed that when a rural hospital closes - thereby eliminating a low-price, affordable hospital from the region - prices at nearby hospitals increased by 3.6%. Throw in Medicaid cuts, and Minnesota's State Medicaid Director John Connolly says, unfortunately, rural hospitals are in the bullseye.

"Often, in many communities in greater Minnesota or rural parts of Minnesota, there is a higher share of people in the community who rely on Medicaid for their health coverage," Connolly explains. "And therefore, the hospitals in those communities rely more disproportionately on Medicaid relative to some facilities in the metro areas."

Wednesday's Health Summit runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.