More must be done to provide better rural health care

This is an op-ed by Brian Moran that originally ran in the Bristol Herald Courier on August 24, 2008.

When I was growing up, my parents welcomed two foster children into our home to join my six brothers and sisters and me. Ours was a traditional Irish middle-class family, so we did not have much.

But helping these young kids get a strong start was my parents’ way of teaching us that everyone deserves a chance – that it’s our job to ensure equal opportunity.

I was reminded of that experience during my recent visit to the Wise County Fairgrounds to see the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Expedition. RAM is the nation’s largest free basic health-care event and this all-volunteer event is an important reminder of our shared commitment to leveling the playing field for everyone.

But this visit also made clear that our efforts to increase health care access in rural Virginia have not done nearly enough.

As I watched one line snake around a tent four times – and saw hundreds waiting for basic health and dental care– I knew that this event serves as powerful proof of our failure to ensure adequate health care for every Virginian. Organizers estimate over 2500 received care over the three days, but as many as 1000 more were turned away.

In a prosperous state in the most powerful nation on earth, it is a simple fact that no one should be denied access to health care. Early health care intervention is not only a moral imperative; it also saves resources. It is much more cost effective to make blood pressure screening and medication available than it is to treat a stroke. Regular dental cleanings are more cost effective than fashioning a new set of teeth.

This visit highlighted what I’ve learned as I prepare my campaign for Governor: Intelligence and ability are equally distributed across this Commonwealth, but investment and opportunity are not.

As thankful as we all are for the volunteers who make this event a success each year, health care access should not be limited to one weekend in July, it should be available year round. As proud as we are of the work at RAM, we will only be successful when we have expanded health care access to the point where this event is no longer necessary.

We cannot expect preventative medicine to reduce rising costs if citizens don’t have regular access to a primary care physician. We cannot expect our kids to do well in school if they don’t have a healthy start. And we certainly can’t expect rural economies to turn around if we only provide health care one weekend a year.

Even in light of RAM’s tremendous work, we cannot forget that opportunity is a fundamental guarantee to all those who live in our Commonwealth, and too many people are being left behind.

Virginia must build the health-care infrastructure to guarantee that Virginians, no matter where they live, have access to basic care, including preventative care. With today’s high gas prices, we cannot expect people to travel across regions to see a doctor.

Roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural America, but only 10 percent of physicians practice there. To tackle the crisis of these medically underserved areas, we have to look to the next generation of nurses, doctors, and dentists and find innovative ways to encourage them to practice in the regions that need them the most. Virginia’s medical and higher-education communities offer important partnership opportunities to help us meet this growing need.

Ultimately, we need to insure more people. The uninsured population in the Wise County area is one of the state’s highest. Those without health insurance are more likely to delay necessary doctor visits, depriving them of access to preventative care and driving up costs for everyone else. Therefore, Virginia needs a long-term vision for health care that includes preventative care; otherwise, we won’t solve the health-care crisis by tackling symptoms in the emergency room.

We’ve got to tackle the root cause. That means healthy food in our school cafeterias, increased exercise and healthier lifestyles, insurance for every child, immunizations for our kids and quality long-term care for our seniors.

If Virginia needs an example of the progress that can be made if we put our minds to it, we can look to recent work expanding health care coverage to children and pregnant women.

We have insured 450,000 children in recent years - more than at any time in our state’s history.

This success proves that Virginia can meet the challenge of health care access only with the right type of leadership. If we work across partisan divisions and regional lines, I’m confident the line at future RAM clinics will be shorter.