A long and deeply-reported feature story in The Washington Post on Tuesday put a spotlight on the stark effect that an epidemic of chronic illness is taking on too many millions of Americans. "Forty years ago, small towns and rural regions were healthier for adults in the prime of life. The reverse is now true," according to the Post. "Urban death rates have declined sharply, while rates outside the country's largest metro areas flattened and then rose." A major driver of that stark fact is that "chronic diseases – obesity, liver disease, hypertension, kidney disease and diabetes – on the rise among people 35 to 64," according to the article – which highlights widespread health disparities and social determinant factors such as "inadequate insurance, minimal preventive care, bad diets and a weak economic safety net." The article also makes a point to emphasize that the medical workforce in the U.S. is "aging and stretched thin," with the country needing "thousands more primary care