[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             AVAILABILITY OF HEALTH CARE TO RURAL AMERICANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Becerra). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, as I have expressed to my colleagues 
earlier this week, I am gravely concerned about the need for an 
improved health delivery system as well as for accessible, affordable 
health care in rural areas.
  The problems of the Nation's current health care system are greatly 
magnified in rural areas. This is where we find high unemployment and 
underemployment, and where family farmers, small business owners and 
factory workers continue to struggle to support their families. This is 
also where there is a lack of health care facilities, and a lack of 
adequate health care providers.
  Currently, in my congressional district in North Carolina there are 
over 92,000 individuals who are without insurance. Of those uninsured, 
75,000--or 81 percent--are in working families. Of this outrageous 
number, 27,000 are children. This is despicable. This is unacceptable.
  I maintain that with guaranteed universal coverage, those 92,000 
individuals and their children would enjoy access to health care that I 
and other Members of this body and our families enjoy; that is, health 
coverage and the security of knowing if we face an illness we will be 
able to seek medical guidance and treatment. I believe that all 
families should have the comfort of knowing that they can provide 
health assistance for their children.
  Considering that such a high number of uninsured are hard-working 
families--81 percent--I think it is imperative that these families are 
offered the opportunity for health coverage, and to receive this 
through their employment is fair. Please know, I understand and 
appreciate the concerns of the many small businesses who are fearful of 
the cost in extending coverage to their employees. There must be 
accommodation to assist businesses in meeting this obligation and 
opportunity. The current House health bill provides for subsidies to 
small businesses with under 100 employees.

  However, according to a study by the Rural Policy Research Institute 
on the impact of health care reform, in the long run ``the economic 
viability of most rural non-health businesses will be unchanged'' and 
our rural families will be enhanced.
  Another major factor in improving health care in rural areas that 
should be addressed in the upcoming health care reform debates is rural 
health care infrastructure. Toward that goal, we need to insure 
increased funding for our community health centers. These health 
centers are the only sources of health care for many miles and for 
thousands of families. We need to insure that networks of health care 
facilities--regional hospitals, county hospitals, and health centers--
can all work together to provide access to quality health care for 
rural Americans.
  We also need to provide incentives for physicians and other medical 
care providers to locate their practices in rural communities. Working 
with teaching hospitals and developing programs where medical students 
can train in rural health facilities, which is a first step in 
attracting health professionals into rural underserved areas.
  Any true health care reform bill must provide these main ingredients 
if it is going to improve the health care status of rural citizens. It 
must provide universal coverage, provisions to improve our health care 
infrastructure, and a means to attract health care providers to 
underserved areas.
  I urge my colleagues as we debate the draft health care reform 
legislation to remember the rural communities and citizens. Our rural 
communities have always been the backbone of America, and it is time we 
recognized the good citizens of these grassroots communities--and, most 
importantly, all the children--and provided them with quality health 
care and the access to that care.

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