Jodey Arrington: “If the United States is going to maintain the ability to feed and clothe our own people and fuel this American economy…”

“If the United States is going to maintain the ability to feed and clothe our own people and fuel this American economy, we need a strong and sustainable rural America like the district I represent in west Texas. What would this country be without the hardworking energy and agriculture producers in small towns across this great land? The heart of small-town sustainability is access to healthcare. There are over 5,000 hospitals in the United States, and roughly half of them are in rural America, serving one out of every five Americans. Without access to basic medical services, communities in America's breadbasket and energy basin would not survive. Hospitals serving rural communities face unique challenges: an aging population, low patient volume, higher percentages of Medicare beneficiaries, to name a few. Each translates into a higher per-patient cost which has left 41 percent of rural hospitals operating at a loss. On top of this problematic patient volume and patient mix, ObamaCare has heaped a backbreaking $54 billion in additional regulatory burden in unfunded mandates. Since 2010, the year ObamaCare was enacted, 80 rural hospitals have shut down, 11 of which were in my home State of Texas. If this rate continues, in less than 10 years, an unimaginable 25 percent of our Nation's rural hospitals will close.…”