Watson Coleman: “constituents across the country in rural areas face serious health care issues, not only in terms of illness but also in…”

“constituents across the country in rural areas face serious health care issues, not only in terms of illness but also in lack of easily accessible services. One out of every five Americans lives in rural areas however only one out of every ten physicians practice in rural areas. Forty percent of our rural population lives in a medically underserved area. With access to care an average of thirty miles away, rural areas have much to gain from the ability to access healthcare information at a distance. We depend on our farmers and ranchers--they are the lifeblood of America and take care of the essentials in our lives such as feeding us and clothing us. We should make sure to take care of them as well. Today, I am proud to be joined by my friend, Senator Bingaman in introducing the Remote Monitoring Access Act of 2005 to overcome the barriers to more rapid diffusion of innovative new technologies that will improve quality and access to care for Medicare beneficiaries, by implementing changes in Medicare fee-for-service reimbursements. Our legislation would create a new benefit category for remote patient management services in the Medicare physician fee schedule. Under this category, Medicare would cover physician services involved with the remote management of specific medical conditions. New technology that collects, analyzes, and transmits clinical health information is in development or has recently been introduced to the market.…”