Political Quotes

“today I wish to discuss the REACH Act, legislation that I have introduced with my colleague, the senior Senator from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, to establish a new category for critical access hospitals in financial distress. Rural hospitals are an essential yet vulnerable part of our health care system. Rural residents face a unique set of challenges in relation to their urban counterparts. According to the American Hospital Association, rural residents are typically older, poorer, and more likely to have chronic diseases than those living in more developed cities. The unique challenges of caring for patients in underserved areas are not the only hurdles that face rural hospitals today. They have a hard time simply keeping their doors open. Since January of 2010, approximately 55 rural hospitals nationwide have closed because they could not generate the kind of support or the volume necessary to continue operation. In Colorado, nearly 60 percent of care for patients in underserved areas is provided by hospitals dependent on rural payment mechanisms, and many hospitals are in danger of closing their doors. I would like to share with you a story about the impact of a rural hospital in my hometown of Yuma, CO, as shared by the CEO of the hospital. Now, I will also tell you that the name of the CEO of the hospital is John Gardner. John Gardner also happens to be the name of my father. They are two different people. My father sells farm equipment.…”