Have Hope, Take Action

Steph Larsen has previously written about the important connection between health care and healthy farm communities at The Ethicurean, and she kindly sent us this post about her work as a rural health organizer.

In a packed church sanctuary last week, 250 constituents of Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI, 3rd) gathered in Eau Claire, WI to listen to story after heartbreaking story – people with health insurance and without, folks with diabetes and other chronic diseases, small business owners, farmers and nurses. One woman who brought tears to my eyes as she told us how her son died while two insurance companies fought over who would pay for his cancer treatment.

It cemented for me what I have known for some time – fixing health care is an issue that unites all of us, because everyone needs a doctor at some point and every time they do, they are reminded how broken beyond repair our current system is. It is time we did something drastic about it.

As a rural policy organizer with the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska, it is my goal to make sure our legislators in Washington, DC hear the voices of rural residents and champion solutions to uniquely rural health care problems as they craft the forthcoming reform. It is a job I am proud to do, because there are too few advocates pushing for the needs of America’s 50 million rural residents.

Rural America faces challenges because it has a population that is more self-employed and has less access to affordable health care options. There are fewer health care providers willing to locate in rural areas, and there is a lack of many vital elements of care, such as emergency services and mental health care. All Americans - regardless of their location - deserve health care reform that works for everyone and doesn't pad the pockets of insurance corporations.

In addition to the individuals sharing their personal disasters with a health care system that fails people, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions of Rep. Kind about upcoming reform. Because one of the committees in Congress that will be important in health care changes is the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Kind’s position on that committee lends him significant influence in the final outcome. Rep. Kind is poised to be an ideal champion to defend rural health care provisions in any upcoming reform legislation because 56% of Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional district is considered rural.

Rebuilding the health care system from the ground up is not just an issue that affects some people. We all have stories, either our own or someone close to us, who have been screwed by insurance companies. If you haven't, you're either one of the lucky ones or you've just not had to test your insurance to see if it will work when you need it to.

These 250 people who took time out of their busy schedules to make their presence known have discovered the keys to a healthy democracy and a health care system that works for everyone: show up and speak out.

You can speak out too. Add your name to the hundreds who have signed the Center for Rural Affairs petition asking the new Secretary of Health and Human Services to support health care reform that works for all.

The Center is also publishing a series of research papers on some of the unique challenges faced by rural communities in meeting their health care needs. The first of these is called Nutrition Physical Activity and Obesity in Rural America, and more will be released in the coming months.

Join us, and raise your voice - because we all deserve health care that works.

Steph Larsen is currently the Rural Policy Organizer for the Center for Rural Affairs in northeast Nebraska, before which she spent three years in Washington, D.C. working with the Community Food Security Coalition. She holds an MS in geography from her home state of Wisconsin.

(Photo credit: Subconsci Productions on Flickr.)