A study from the New Hampshire Insurance Department released Monday found that women face challenges accessing appropriate healthcare due to provider shortages, concerns about healthcare affordability, and a low understanding of insurance coverage by participants of online surveys and group sessions.

The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was commissioned to understand barriers to accessing women’s health services with particular focus on preventative care, maternal health and state compliance with federal market reforms.

Michelle Heaton, director of Life and Health at the state insurance department, said surveys and focus groups found that consumers expressed concern over challenges that were outside of the department’s scope of work, like transportation, hospital capacity and geographical challenges.

“We’re a somewhat rural state and we have a mountain range that goes right through it with a lot of lakes so it makes just the geography of our state difficult to come up with set standards that can be applied to everyone in this state,” Heaton said.

Heaton said the state insurance department’s goal is to increase transparency and education.

“What we’re aiming to do with a lot of our transparency efforts that we have in the works is to really highlight where we’re actually seeing provider shortages,” Heaton said. “What types of providers have shortages and in what areas of the state they are.”

The study also identified areas of concern surrounding hospital closures, rural broadband access, Medicaid policy design, the workforce pipeline and culturally aligned care.

The study found that New Hampshire’s Essential Health Benefit benchmark plan, available on the health insurance marketplace, was on par with other states in New England, with the exception for fertility treatment. New Hampshire does not provide fertility treatment as part of its plan.