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MCCAIN VS. IOWA: MCCAIN’S “SERIOUS” PLAN TO IMPROVE RURAL HEALTH CARE – PRO ATHLETES?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Des Moines, IA - Today marks the second segment
in the McCain vs. Iowa series, with the focus
being rural health care.
Just this week,
a study was released from the Iowa Department
of Public Health showing that at least 250 more
health providers are needed to ensure every
Iowan has access to health care. Where
are these health care providers needed
most? Rural Iowa. Even more
alarming, the report estimates that nearly
242,000 Iowans will be without reliable access
to health care by 2015.
Senator Barack
Obama has a specific plan to improve access to
quality health care in rural communities.
As president, Obama will work to ensure a more
equitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement
structure for rural providers. He will attract
providers to rural America by creating a loan
forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who
work in underserved rural areas. In addition,
Senator Obama supports increasing rural access
to care by promoting health information
technologies like telemedicine.
Senator
John McCain’s plan for rural health care?
When asked in Kentucky about “the great
disparity between the health care of Appalachia
and the rest of the nation,” McCain responded,
well, hear it for yourself:
MCCAIN: “I
think one of the things we need to do is to
emphasize wellness and fitness. . . . I’d like
to see—you know, I’ve talked about this a
couple of times and it may not sound too
serious, but I am serious—who the young people
here in an American admire the most and that’s
great athletes. I’d like to enlist great
athletes to come around the country and take
maybe just a few days of their time to talk to
students about the need and absolute necessity
and benefits of wellness and
fitness.”
You can view the clip here.
“Senator
McCain just doesn’t understand the challenges
facing Iowa’s rural communities,” said State
Senator Amanda Ragan from Mason City, a member
of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on
Health and Human Services. “Bringing Shaq
into schools won’t increase reimbursement rates
and won’t attract doctors and nurses to work in
small towns across Iowa. The rural health
care problem is a serious one and needs a
serious solution. Senator McCain has
voted against increasing reimbursements to
rural communities, and now claims Shaq can
solve the health care challenges throughout
rural America. Senator Obama has spent a
great deal of time traveling throughout rural
Iowa and has listened directly to Iowans and
understands the hurdles we are facing related
to health
care.”
Where are Senator McCain’s other ideas
about rural health care? Tough to say
since the issue is nowhere to be found on his
website.
For more information on
positions Senator McCain has taken against
Iowa’s interests, visit www.mccainvsiowa.com.
REPORTER: There’s a great disparity between the health care of Appalachia and the rest of the nation. In fact, obesity rates, cancer rates, diabetes rates in this part of the country are among the nation’s highest. How do we close that gap? [McCain Press Conference, Inez, KY, 4/23/08]
TEXT: QUESTION: What is your plan for Rural Health Care?
MCCAIN: I think one of the things we need to do is to emphasize wellness and fitness. I’d like to ask our schools—not only here in Appalachia but across America—what is the school lunch program? What’s the physical education curriculum? How can we emphasize wellness and fitness? . . . [McCain Press Conference, Inez, KY, 4/23/08]
TEXT: Do you actually have a plan for rural health care?
MCCAIN: You know, I’ve talked about this a couple of times and it may not sound too serious, but I am serious—who the young people here in an American admire the most and that’s great athletes. I’d like to enlist great athletes to come around the country and take maybe just a few days of their time to talk to students about the need and absolute necessity and benefits of wellness and fitness. [McCain Press Conference, Inez, KY, 4/23/08]
TEXT: You need more than great athletes to call it a rural health care plan.
MCCAIN: I also want to mention one other thing that sounds a little…um, maybe…naïve but I think it’s effective. At Miami Children’s Hospital, I met a young man who had lost 76 pounds. [McCain Town Hall, Cleveland, OH, 5/1/08]
MCCAIN: I met a young man at the, uh, Miami Children’s Hospital that had lost 97 pounds and I said what is it? What was it? He said, “I took Shaq’s Challenge. Shaquille O’Neal challenged me.” [McCain Town Hall, Warren, MI, 7/18/08]
TEXT: Shaq’s challenge is great. A rural health care plan would be even better.
MCCAIN: My point is, Americans’ young people look up to and respect our stellar athletes and our great athletes. I wish they looked up and respected us as much. [McCain Town Hall, Denver, CO, 5/2/08]
MCCAIN: So I’d love to see our great athletes who young Americans—and, and women athletes that young women look up to and admire—and all people that are admired by young people to go around to the schools in America and talk to ‘em. [McCain Town Hall, Allentown, PA, 4/30/08]
TEXT: THE PROBLEM: Rural Iowa needs 250 additional health care providers. [IA Dept of Public Health]
TEXT: Without a serious plan, 242,000 Iowans won’t have access to health care by 2015. [IA Dept. of Public Health]
TEXT: Learn more about McCain’s record against Rural Health Care at McCAINvsIOWA.COM.
McCain vs. Rural Health Care
When asked about his plan to address rural health care in May 2008, McCain admitted it “may not sound too serious” and said he wanted to “enlist great athletes to come around the country” and talk to students about wellness and fitness. [National Journal, 5/1/08]
There is no plan to bring doctors, nurses, or other health care professionals to rural America on John McCain's official campaign website. [JohnMcCain.com]
McCain rejects any calls for universal health coverage. His plan would reduce incentives for employers to provide health insurance. The tax credits he proposes are woefully insufficient to cover average Americans’ health care costs. Millions of rural Americans would be left uninsured and underinsured under Senator McCain’s plan. [Washington Post 4/30/08; NY Times 4/30/08; “Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; NY Times 5/1/08]
VOTING RECORD
John McCain Provided Key Vote Against Fair Medicare Reimbursements for Rural Health Care Providers. In 2003, McCain voted against Senator Harkin’s amendment that would have reduced Bush’s enormous tax cuts given to the wealthiest American tax payers in order to give a fair reimbursement to rural health care providers under Medicare. The amendment failed by one vote. [SCR 23, Vote 89, 3/25/03]
John McCain Opposed a Bipartisan Bill that Provided Nearly $2 Billion to Rural America. McCain was the only senator to miss a key vote on a bipartisan bill to stop a cut in Medicare payments to physicians and provide almost two billion critical dollars to rural America. He later issued a press statement opposing it. [NRHA, 7/15/08; HR 6331, Vote 169, 7/9/08; McCain press release, 7/9/08]
FACTS
A recent study estimates that 242,000 Iowans will be without reliable access to care by 2015. [Iowa Department of Public Health, 8/12/08]
Iowa ranks 49th in Medicare reimbursements rates nationwide. [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 7/14/08]
Rural residents face higher out-of-pocket costs of health care. [Maine Rural Health Research Center]