Rural Virginians cleared the air about their position on health-care reform at the “Rural Issues in Health Care Reform” congressional briefing hosted this week by Reps. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) also spoke at the briefing.
Jim White, a community member from the Martinsville area, addressed the crowd consisting of members of Congress, congressional staffers, health-care advocates and rural Americans from across the nation. “The health insurance crisis has taken away the ability of many rural Americans to be independent and proud. It is difficult to feel proud when you cannot afford to take your kid to the doctor or you have to help your wife cut her pills in half because she cannot afford to take the prescribed dosage. These are realities that rural Virginians face every day. Not only do most rural Virginians want health-care reform, they need it even more than urban folks,” said White.
Shirley Roundtree made the trip to Washington from Palmyra. Having experienced her own health-care issues, she was still taken aback by some of the stories from the speakers. “I am really glad I came today. It was an eye-opening experience. Although I have experienced my own health-care problems, I never thought about the fact that it is bad for other rural Americans as well. One woman spoke about cutting her pills in half and another about choosing between putting food on the table or buying her medication. No one should have to make that choice,” said Roundtree. “Most rural Virginians live on a limited budget and find themselves stretching every penny. When you are bogged down with co-pays and high deductibles, it makes it impossible to get by. Paying for health-care expenses is an extreme hardship for so many people in rural Virginia. We need to do better,” added Roundtree.
According to the eye-opening report, “Sweet the Bitter Drought: Why Rural America Needs Health Care Reform,” rural Americans are more likely to be underinsured, less likely to have choices in insurance coverage, travel greater distances and often face shortages in health-care providers, medical services and technology.
Edward Strickler works in health services planning for the Virginia Department of Health and made the trip to Washington from Scottsville. Strickler sees first-hand the health-care disparities that rural Americans face. “I am concerned about the lack of specialized health-care services in rural communities like mine. There is a lack of access to the newest services and technology that makes the jobs of rural health-care providers even harder. This lack of expanded services and care also impacts patients with specific needs like senior citizens and HIV positive patients,” said Strickler. “I am glad that Majority Whip Clyburn stressed the importance of bringing health resources and technology to rural communities. Rural communities should have the same access to experts and technology that urban communities already have.”
The briefing also included the release of a five minute documentary, “Health Care for the Heartland,” filmed at county fairs across the country this summer.
“I think that the meeting today helped to debunk the idea that citizens in rural America are against health-care reform,” said David Shreve, member of the Virginia Organizing Project and Albemarle County resident. “What’s odd is that while members of Congress from rural states are wielding disproportionate power in the health-care reform debate, rural voters have been largely invisible and ignored or portrayed as against reform. Rural Americans are certainly interested in doing something for health-care reform and particularly something bold. They understand that tinkering around the edges won’t cut it.”
The briefing was moderated by Ezra Klein of the Washington Post. States represented at the briefing and in the documentary included South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, Nebraska, Tennessee and Missouri.
The report Sweet the Bitter Drought: Why Rural America Needs Health Care Reform is available for download at the Center for Community Change.
Share
Contributors
