Connected Nation said household internet and device adoption was associated with better results on eight of nine U.S. county health measures, as states carry out a $50 billion rural health initiative.
The nonprofit released its report on Oct. 22. It compared household internet and device adoption across U.S. counties with nine measures spanning health status, mortality, hospital use, birth outcomes, injury deaths and preventive care.
Connected Nation said the associations persisted after household income and education were taken into account. Self-assessed health and premature mortality showed the steadiest patterns. Urban counties more often showed pronounced correlations than areas where rural residents formed a majority. The nonprofit said local economic conditions aligned more closely with health measures than broadband adoption did.
The measures included years of potential life lost; the population share reporting fair or poor health; average physically unhealthy days; average mentally unhealthy days; injury death rates; low-birth-weight births as a percentage of all births; preventable hospitalization rates; influenza vaccination among Medicare beneficiaries; and mammography among Medicare beneficiaries.
Because the analysis compares county-level measures, it cannot establish that broadband adoption caused health outcomes to improve or that individuals with internet access were healthier.
The findings come as states implement the Rural Health Transformation Program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said all 50 states received awards under the five-year initiative. It makes $10 billion available each year from 2026 through 2030, totaling $50 billion.
CMS said half of the funding is divided equally among approved states, with state and program factors determining the allocation of the rest. The program's stated priorities include broader rural access to care, a stronger health workforce, and updated facilities and technology.
