John Barrow: “Mr. Speaker, without H.R. 6331 many doctors across the country will not be able to afford to see and treat Medicare…”

“Mr. Speaker, without H.R. 6331 many doctors across the country will not be able to afford to see and treat Medicare patients. In a rural district like mine where a greater percentage of the population depends on Medicare for their health care, that's not acceptable. We are lucky to have world-class health care in this country, but health care is only as good as an individual's ability to get to that health care and their ability to afford it. H.R. 6331 will keep our doctors in business so that our Nation's poor and elderly can get the health care that they need. I am proud of the fact that H.R. 6331 contains some specific relief for folks in rural areas, making sure that rural doctors get paid fairly, increasing payments to critical access hospitals, and covering the additional fuel costs faced by ambulances in rural districts. This bill will also help poor seniors by increasing the amount of assets that a low-income beneficiary can have and still qualify for financial help with Medicare costs. While this bill doesn't fix everything that's broke with Medicare, it is a big step forward and we absolutely need it.”