By Martin Louis, RCAC staff writer

As the critical Iowa caucuses approach in February and the primaries in rural states follow, democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election are proposing solutions to issues that affect smaller communities across the United States. Democratic and independent voters in Iowa have listed health care as their top concern, with Iowa experiencing the same hospital closures as other rural states.

More than 100 rural hospitals have closed in the United States since 2010 and another 430 are at risk of closing. In Texas alone, an estimated three million Texans live in rural areas. But in the past 50 years, its rural healthcare system has shrunk from 300 to 150 rural hospitals, despite the state’s enormous population growth.

Presidential candidates have proposed more funding toward “telehealth.” The idea being that technology, such as video chat, could be leveraged to connect people in rural areas with skilled physicians regardless of location

Read more at NBC News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/americas-rural-hospital-crisis-becomes-major-2020-campaign-issue