Healthcare in this country costs too much – especially in rural areas. Not only does it cost more here, but we’re faced with the additional problems of access due to geography, and lack of facilities and providers. The dire reality is many folks in CD3 are faced with hours of driving to receive care in under-resourced hospitals or clinics. This goes for basic healthcare and the growing need for mental healthcare as well.
We in rural Colorado have more in common with folks in rural Tennessee than we do with Denver or DC. Lawmakers aren’t focused on us. They don’t seem to understand that our hospitals are closing, people are getting killed by the costs of prescription drugs, opioid use is rampant, and veterans and ranchers — most of whom are in rural areas — suffer at a greater rate from mental health issues than other people.
Big pharmaceutical companies are buying their influence in Washington. I will fight this tooth and nail. I will focus solely on driving down costs and methodically look at what can be done to improve rural health care with federal support like protecting Medicare and Medicaid, prioritizing mental health, increasing funding for critical access hospitals, expanding telehealth access, and supporting scholarship programs for healthcare students to practice in rural communities after graduation.