More than 25% of rural U.S. residents had trouble accessing health care in the last few years, and almost half of them reported it was because they could not afford the care, according to a survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released this week. The survey found that 49% of respondents said they would not be able to afford an unexpected expense, such as a medical bill totaling $1,000. (Source: NPR’s “Shots,” 5/21)