[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13710]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PRESERVING HEALTH CARE ACCESS

  (Ms. GIFFORDS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GIFFORDS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, with my enthusiastic support, 
the House passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers 
Act, H.R. 6331.
  In Cochise County, which is a rural part of my southern Arizona 
district, access to primary health care is a real challenge, but it is 
a challenge that particularly impacts our seniors.
  This legislation protects payments for community physicians, for 
critical hospitals and for ambulances in rural areas. In southern 
Arizona, these doctors and hospitals provide vital services to our 
seniors throughout a very rural part of America, including areas like 
Naco, Sierra Vista, Douglas, and Bisbee, Arizona.
  I would like to take a moment to thank members of my senior advisory 
council and my health care advisory council. They have worked 
diligently to highlight the need for improving access to health care 
for our seniors, especially in underserved and remote areas.
  Yesterday was a good day in the House of Representatives. I urge my 
colleagues in the Senate to take swift action this week to also pass 
this legislation and to send it to the President.

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