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Community health worker's hand resting on clipboard while a mother signs enrollment paperwork, child's sneakers visible in soft focus background
Healthcare Access — Issue 2026

Maricopa County, Arizona · Enrollment Day

Advocate · Healthcare Access Initiative

Healthcare
Shouldn't
Require a
Miracle.

1.4 million families in the rural Southwest have no clinic within 40 miles — and no one to help them navigate what comes next.

Find Care Near YouRead the Story

47K+

Families Enrolled in 2025

12

Mobile Clinics Operating

1 in 5 Rural Families Uninsured40+ Miles to Nearest Clinic47,000 Families Enrolled12 Mobile Clinics24 Counties ServedFree Enrollment NavigationPrescription Assistance AvailableNo Appointment Needed1 in 5 Rural Families Uninsured40+ Miles to Nearest Clinic47,000 Families Enrolled12 Mobile Clinics24 Counties ServedFree Enrollment NavigationPrescription Assistance AvailableNo Appointment Needed
The Human Story
Elderly Hispanic woman sitting at kitchen table with Medicaid paperwork spread out, reading glasses resting on forms, warm afternoon light through window

Pinal County, Arizona · October 2025

Rosa's
Forty-Mile
Morning.

Rosa Delgado-Herrera has been rationing her blood pressure medication since October. Not because she can't afford it — the generic costs $4 — but because the nearest pharmacy that accepts her expired Medicaid card is in Casa Grande, and the 6:15 AM bus doesn't run on Tuesdays.

Her daughter, Marisol, is eight months pregnant. She's had two prenatal appointments. The recommended number is twelve. The clinic in Eloy closed in 2022. The one in Coolidge has a six-week wait for new patients.

This is not a crisis of willpower. It is a crisis of geography, paperwork, and a system that was designed — however unintentionally — for people who already have a car, a computer, and a weekday free.

"I know how to fill out the forms. I just need someone to tell me which ones — and to not lose the paperwork after I do."
— Rosa D., Pinal County, AZ
Aerial view of rural Arizona desert county showing vast open land with a single small clinic building and dirt roads, no other medical facilities visible for miles

One clinic.
Three hundred square miles.

Pinal County, AZ — 2025

Rosa found help. So can you.

Find Care in Your County

Free · Confidential · No insurance required

The Coverage Gap

The Map
Tells the
Story.

These are not statistics from a distant report. They describe the county where Rosa lives, where your neighbor's grandmother makes her appointments, where a community health worker drives 60 miles to hand-deliver enrollment forms.

1 in 5%

Rural families uninsured

Across the 24-county service region, 20% of families have no coverage — nearly triple the national rate.

43 mi

Average distance to nearest clinic

In Pinal, Pima, and Cochise counties, the median drive to a primary care provider exceeds 43 miles.

67%

Eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid

67% of income-eligible residents in our region are not enrolled — most cite paperwork complexity as the primary barrier.

3.2x

Higher maternal mortality

Rural mothers in Arizona face 3.2× higher mortality rates than urban counterparts — a direct consequence of prenatal care deserts.

Care Deserts by County

CountyPopulationClinicsAvg. Miles to Care
Pinal County449,000
47 mi
Graham County38,000
61 mi
Greenlee County9,700
74 mi
Santa Cruz County48,000
38 mi
La Paz County22,000
82 mi

Source: Arizona Dept. of Health Services · Updated January 2026

"The paperwork isn't the barrier. The distance isn't the barrier. The belief that the system will fail you again — that's the barrier."
— Carmen Vasquez-Ruiz, Community Health Navigator, Advocate
Our Programs

The Answer
Is Already
On Its Way.

01

Mobile Health Clinics

The clinic comes to you

12

Vans on the road

02

Enrollment Navigator Services

Someone in your corner

94%

Successful enrollment rate

03

Prescription Assistance

No one skips a dose

$340

Average monthly savings

04

Prenatal Care Access

Every appointment, kept

2,100+

Mothers enrolled in 2025

White mobile health clinic van parked in a rural community parking lot, healthcare worker in scrubs greeting a family outside
The clinic comes to you

Mobile Health Clinics

Twelve fully equipped vans run rotating routes through 24 counties, offering primary care, vaccinations, blood pressure screening, and prenatal visits. No appointment. No insurance required.

Routes posted weekly. Text "CLINIC" to 85226 for the nearest stop.

Access This Program
Community health workers gathered outside a mobile clinic van in a rural Arizona community, diverse group, warm afternoon light

Your Turn
to Help.

Free Resource

Download the
Enrollment Guide

A plain-language, 24-page guide to Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace coverage — written for real families, not policy readers. Available in English and Spanish.

No spam. One email. Unsubscribe anytime.

Volunteer

Become a Community Navigator

No medical background required. We train you. Flexible hours. Stipend available for bilingual volunteers.

Apply to Volunteer
Community Voices

Share
Your Story

Stories shape policy. Your experience — waiting months for an appointment, driving past empty lots where a clinic used to be — matters to legislators and funders who've never driven that road.

Stories may be anonymized and shared with policy partners. We'll always ask first.

Support the Work

$47 Enrolls a Family.

That's the average cost of one Navigator session — paperwork, translation, follow-up calls, and all. Your donation funds the next family's session.

Donate $47 NowChoose Your Amount