[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 22967-22968]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RURAL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, in the current health care debate we are 
overlooking access to health care in rural America. For families living 
in rural towns all across Kansas and America, access to quality health 
care is often the primary concern. In fact, right now, less than 10 
percent of our physicians serve 25 percent of our population.
  In order to improve access to quality medical care, we need to start 
with three basic reforms. First, we should

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reimburse providers for the full cost of care so rural medical 
professionals can do their job of curing and healing. Second, we should 
repay enormous debt incurred through medical school so more young 
people enter general practice and practice care in smaller towns. 
Finally, the Federal Government should stop picking winners and losers 
with its coverage decisions in urban versus rural health care, because 
in every case, rural health care gets shortchanged.
  We should focus on reforms needed to solve the health care crisis in 
rural Kansas and in rural America, and, in doing so, we will improve 
health care delivery to the rest of the Nation. Without addressing 
these exploding costs or recognition that we need to focus on training 
new practitioners, the access problems plaguing rural America will only 
get worse.

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