Kevin Roberts: “I started my public service career fighting for rural health. In a State that has many rural hospitals, the rural health…”

“I started my public service career fighting for rural health. In a State that has many rural hospitals, the rural health care delivery system is especially important to Kansas. One of my first speeches was to rural hospitals. Since that time, I have been beating the drum, so to speak, for our rural areas about how important it is to focus on rural health. I have always said that people in rural towns deserve the same access to care and level of treatment as their urban counterparts. I have made it my mission to protect our rural health system and patient access to the best possible care. I am honored to serve as the cochair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus where I work with my colleagues to fight for our rural health care system every day. Unfortunately, these days it feels as though rural health care, and all of those involved in it, face an uphill battle. Over the past few years, the rural health system has continued to face even more challenges. Funding for rural health care programs has been targeted again and again. This year the Senate Finance Committee held a markup with regular order where we considered some of the rural extenders that are absolutely vital to our rural communities. Regrettably, we have more work to do. We have to convince and educate our colleagues, this administration, and everyone else about the importance of rural health care.…”