Travel Distance, Urbanicity, and Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation in Medicare Beneficiaries
Main finding · CR enrollmentResult — go to the resultAdjusted difference −22.6 95% CI −23.1 to −22.0Authors' conclusion
Increased travel distance was associated with lower overall CR participation, with the effect varying by local degree of urbanicity.
Study context
- Population
- Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with a recent CV procedure, July 2016–December 2018
- Participants
- 501,049 beneficiaries
- Exposure
- Travel distance to nearest cardiac rehabilitation (CR) facility and urbanicity categories
- Same zip coden = 118,642
- 30+ milesn = 38,309
- Outcome
- CR enrollment (≥1 session) and completion (≥36 sessions)
Main finding
CR enrollment
Adjusted difference
−22.6
95% CI −23.1 to −22.0
P < 0.001
Events by group
30+ miles vs Same zip code
adjusted difference −22.6 (95% CI −23.1 to −22.0); P < 0.001
As reported in the abstract
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Distance to nearest CR facility, by urbanicity
- Distance to nearest CR facility, by urbanicity: urban n = 84,345; rural n = 112,697
Effect of travel distance on CR enrollment and completion, rural vs urban
- Effect of travel distance significantly greater in rural than urban areas
Original publication
Travel Distance, Urbanicity, and Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation in Medicare Beneficiaries. JACC Adv. Published 26 December 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it