Talk of the town at Policy Institute
[caption id="attachment_1519" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, Roberts' straight talk always educates and entertains."][/caption] As 450 of America’s most passionate advocates are fighting for rural health on Capitol Hill, we thought we’d take a moment to recap some of the memorable (and often unscripted) quotes from the National Rural Health Association’s 23rd annual Rural Health Policy Institute so far: “When you’ve worked on rural health as long as all of us have, sometimes it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today I can tell you there’s a light shining brightly. We have the power and momentum to bring fairness and equality to rural America.” – Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary “It’s not a question of either-or in terms of strengthening the rural health care safety net. It’s all in.” – Mary Wakefield, HRSA administrator "It's critical we fight for rural health care together. It's time to put partisanship aside and the interest of patients and our people at the head of the line." – Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. “You’ve talked to Kathleen (Sebelius), Mary Wakefield, Sen. Nelson, Sen. Udall, and there’s an old expression from Kansas: if you want to be a big flea, you have to run with tall dogs, so here I am.” – Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “Americans shouldn't have to travel hundreds of miles for health care or go bankrupt seeking it.” – Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. "The critical access hospitals in America are exactly that.” – Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. "if we could take half the doctors in Miami and move them to Thief River Falls, Minn., we'd solve half our problems." – Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., joked "The National Rural Health Association has served as an important consensus builder and a strong advocate on behalf of rural Americans." – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa “I’ve always said, ‘if you don’t do something, folks, a lot of babies are going to be born in pickups.’ I will do my very best to help them understand the differences between rural and urban needs.” – Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “Calling 911 has become the choice of care for rural Americans, and it’s an expensive problem.” – Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. “Access to affordable health care should not depend on where you live, but unfortunately, it does.” – Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. “Health care is not a one-size-fits-all policy challenge. We have 83 critical access hospitals in Kansas, and they’re hanging on by their fingernails, and they want to put limits on them.” – Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “If we want to control health care costs, we need to invest in a foundation of prevention. It’s more cost effective and productive and key for rural Americans, for all Americans.” – Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. “To be honest, a lot of my colleagues think that ‘rural America’ is what you see driving between Washington and Baltimore where there’s about five miles with no buildings.” – Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. “Revisiting vital Medicare extenders every few months is not ideal for you folks who have to budget to keep the doors open.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa “If you can draw your bank account down to zero in Zimbabwe, you ought to be able to access your medical history in Branson, Mo., or anywhere else with the same security.” – Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. “Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for your partnership. Boy, do we need you.” – Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. The Policy Institute continues with a Capitol Hill reception tonight and updates from Veterans Affairs, CMS and the Office of Rural Health Policy and comments from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tomorrow.