Rural communities in Nevada and across the U.S. are losing access to healthcare at alarming rates. Between 2019 and 2024, small towns lost nearly 2,500 physicians and 3,300 practices closed, leaving patients with 11% fewer options for care (KNPR).

Independent doctors are being hit the hardest — their numbers have dropped by 43% in rural areas. For Nevadans outside Reno and Las Vegas, that means longer drives, delayed checkups, and fewer specialists close to home.

The reasons are clear: low reimbursement rates, high malpractice costs, limited residency opportunities, and financial pressures that make rural practice unsustainable.

What Nevada needs: more residency slots, fairer reimbursement, loan-repayment incentives, and support for rural practices. Healthcare is a matter of justice — and no community should be left behind.