Rural Healthcare
We have to put people first, especially in rural Montana, where doctors are few and far between. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 46 of Montana’s 56 counties are underserved by primary care doctors. Almost a third of Montana’s primary care doctors will retire by 2030, according to the Robert Graham Center.
“With nearly 40% of U.S. family physicians older than 55 years, policymakers should support broad-spectrum training models that produce enough primary care physicians to meet state population needs,” concluded researcher Elizabeth Wilkinson, with the Robert Graham Center. Montana isn’t even the most vulnerable of our states, which points to a systematic problem with how we recruit and retain physicians in America.
WWAMI, the University of Washington program to train doctors in the western states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (hence, WWAMI), helps some, but more needs to be done to encourage rural hospitals to open their doors to doctors in training. That’s why I support S 1873, the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act of 2021. This bipartisan bill would cut the red tape and the costs that burden rural hospitals that want to train more doctors.
As your representative in Congress, I will place a priority on rural health care.
We need more doctors, therapists, and clinical care in rural Montana.
Making sure that rural Montanans can enjoy the medical care they deserve puts People Over Politics.
What Penny Will Do in Congress to Support and Improve Montana’s Healthcare System
Increase access to telemedicine
Expand Medicare to allow telemedicine a reimbursement structure that is equivalent to an in-person visit
Support increased broadband infrastructure in rural areas
Support federal funding and cultivation of rural trained physicians for family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, OBGYN, psychiatry, and more
Support Medicaid expansion
Increase support for preventative care
Increase medical education programs for nursing, physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners, and doctors
Support partnerships with large organizations such as Mayo Clinic and Intermountain Health
Support graduate medical education for rural tract programs and residencies