Political Quotes

“One fourth of all Medicare beneficiaries live in rural areas, and they are getting the short end of the stick. Rural hospitals are closing, and there are not enough rural hospitals to begin with. Twenty-five percent, as I said, 25 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries live in rural areas; 90 percent of all physician specialists practice in urban areas. Senior and disabled Americans who need care simply are not getting it in time. That is more than a problem. It is a tragedy. Because of the high proportion of elderly in rural areas, Medicare plays a particularly important role in those areas. Inadequate Medicare reimbursement means inadequate access. There is no cushion. Our responsibility to rural Medicare enrollees is the same as our responsibility to urban Medicare enrollees. They paid in Medicare throughout their working years in exchange for health care security during their retirement. It is the covenant between the Government and its people. Now that those people are retired, their health care should be reliable. It should be affordable. It should be easily accessible. To meet that responsibility, we need to pay rural providers enough to stay in business.”