Comments on: Study: Rural America can’t wait for health care reform

By: Prateek Panchal

Prateek Panchal — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:02:00 +0000

Everyone requires health reform, and rural are no different.....Cheers!!! Artificial Inseminationwww

By: James G. Hardy

James G. Hardy — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:15:30 +0000

I’ve operated Hardy Family Dentistry, a rural practice in central North Carolina, for nearly 30 years. During that time, I’ve improved the smiles for thousands of patients across a five-county area who once feared the dentist. I returned to my rural roots following dental school to establish a practice that could serve the tremendous need for dental education, prevention and effective treatment in small communities. Today, oral health remains one of the most common unmet health care needs. Access to health services is still unbalanced.

HealthyPeople 2010, is a federal initiative designed to tackle the most significant health threats and establish national goals to prevent and reduce them. Seventeen of these objectives relate directly to oral health. Yet, dental care is not part of health care reform?

Dental visits are much more significant than cleanings, fillings and root canals. A good dentist can identify health issues from a simple dental exam. Neglecting your teeth and gums can negatively affect, even trigger, other serious health issues. Oral health care simply should not be overlooked.

By: InceptingReality

InceptingReality — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:09:18 +0000

It's true, they need to do something with the health system in rural regions. I am tired of having to drive every time for an hour to go to the dentists in Bostonjust because there is nothing closer that is worth paying money for...

By: KNichols

KNichols — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:09:50 +0000

Wellmark has just announced that Iowa's premiums are going up 18%. Our insurance bill will be more than our house note.

By: KNichols

KNichols — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:09:50 +0000

Wellmark has just announced that Iowa's premiums are going up 18%. Our insurance bill will be more than our house note.

By: kathylarason

kathylarason — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:53:37 +0000

Did the study include the added transportation & lodging costs incurred by insured rural residents who must travel long distances to take advantage of medical procedures covered by their insurance? If we use local medical facilities our copays increase; to take advantage of lower copays – and specialist care – we make a 300 mile round trip, stay overnight, miss work, etc. Of course, for emergency care we have no choice. Living far from urban areas means lower salaries and higher medical costs,
Passing the current, flawed, bill is the least that should be done. It's time to consider a single payer system like other industrial countries.

By: bigearlxxx

bigearlxxx — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:30:48 +0000

Maybe if the federal government would stop taxing small businesses to death (the useless suspension of the capital gains tax cut for small businesses is only helpful if the business owner SELLS the business) then perhaps the owners could afford health insurance premiums.

Perhaps if Medicare and the VA stopped making it so hard to get paid (by the burden of paperwork and the delays in payment) then maybe health care providers could do so more efficiently.

And if the federal government would leave the most advanced health care system in the history of man alone, maybe students would start choosing medical school again. At the rate that it is going, the problem will soon be FINDING a doctor in rural areas, NOT paying for the visit.

By: Wellescent Health

Wellescent Health — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:55:52 +0000

Rural residents already face challenges in health care simply due to problems physically accessing care in many situations so these additional very high costs and cost risks place a disproportionate share of the problems with the health care system in their laps. This is just one more reason why the current system is incredibly broken.