Sen. Heitkamp: We Must Protect Families’ Access to Rural Hospitals Like Southwest Healthcare Services in Bowman

BOWMAN, N.D., July 6 -- The office of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., issued the following news release:

During a visit to Southwest Healthcare Services in Bowman, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today underscored the need to safeguard rural hospitals and rural families from drastic cuts to rural health care that would happen under Republican health care bill.

Touring the facility and sitting down with leaders and staff, Heitkamp heard about the challenges Southwest Healthcare has faced, and its serious concerns with the Republican health care bill's severe cuts to resources rural facilities need to provide a range of quality services, as well as the bill's reduction to their patients' medical coverage. The facility, which is the area's largest employer, serves a sizable portion of farmers and ranchers - a community that drives the Bowman area economy.

The Republican health care bill would put communities like Bowman in difficult situations as rural hospitals would lose out as would local families and residents. The bill would essentially end the Medicaid expansion and drastically cut traditional Medicaid by 26 percent, which could put rural hospitals in the red. Many rural hospitals operate on thin margins as they guarantee access to everything from 24-hour emergency care to outpatient therapy. The cuts to Medicaid could put hospitals like Southwest Healthcare over the edge. Without Southwest Healthcare, residents of Bowman and nearby communities would have to travel distances to access care.

Heitkamp has been calling for bipartisan solutions to improve health care that would instead protect North Dakota's rural hospitals and populations. Just last week she led her colleagues in the Senate in calling for legislation that creates more certainty and coverage protection for North Dakota families. The effort builds on her work since 2013 on a variety of proposals to make the health reform law work better for families and businesses.

"In rural communities like Bowman that rely heavily on ready access to quality health care, the Republican health care bill is not an option," said Heitkamp. "For generations, families in North Dakota - particularly in farming and ranching communities - have relied on being able to see their health provider at their local rural hospitals to keep them strong, healthy and safe. Today at Southwest Healthcare Services in Bowman we talked about how ripping away Medicaid - as the Republican health care bill would do -- could devastate rural communities and hospitals, and talked about how this bill would disproportionately hurt those in rural towns. By threatening the ability of proud farming and ranching families to stay in communities too far removed from health facilities, as well as the local economies that depend on their investment, this Republican bill turns its backs on rural America - and I won't accept it. Instead, we need commonsense, bipartisan solutions that make health care affordable for North Dakota families - and that's what I'll keep working to achieve."

"As a rural hospital administrator since 1976, my concern is always making sure families and communities can get the care they need," said Interim Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Healthcare Services John Osse. "That's why the Republican health care bill has me worried sick. For communities like Bowman where 80-90 percent of our patients are farmers and ranchers who often have a preexisting condition, the possibility that they might lose their ability to access coverage would be devastating. And in my history as a rural health administrator, I know what a game changer Medicaid provisions for Critical Access hospitals has been in helping make sure rural families and businesses have access to the care they need - and they deserve better than being erased from this bill. I'm glad Senator Heitkamp understands that when it comes to rural health, we're not just talking about a policy on a piece of paper - we're talking about real families and communities - and that she's committed to fighting for towns like Bowman that depend on Southwest Healthcare Services."

Many concerns of health leaders at Southwest Healthcare mirrored those of rural hospital leaders across the state - that the Republican bill would disproportionately hurt rural health facilities and patients. Currently, a handful of senators are negotiating a backroom deal to overhaul the health care system without so much as a public hearing. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a health care bill in May that would rip coverage from 23 million Americans, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office - including more than 30,000 North Dakotans. The bill offered in the Senate - which builds on the House-passed bill - would specifically impact rural communities by:

Hurting families who rely on Medicaid. The biggest savings in the bill come from severe cuts to Medicaid - the program would see a 26 percent cut in 2026. The bill would slash a lifesaving program that 90,000 North Dakota children and individuals with disabilities, seniors, and low-income families rely on for affordable, quality care. That includes 36,000 children in North Dakota. As a result, the American Hospital Association estimates that North Dakota Medicaid would lose $1.2 billion through 2026.

Making it more difficult for rural hospitals to stay open. The Medicaid cuts would also imperil rural hospitals, which have seen their amount of bad debt fall 45 percent due to Medicaid expansion, helping them keep their doors open and deliver care close to home for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.

Reducing jobs in rural communities. The North Dakota Hospital Association released a study showing that health care and social assistance account for one of every seven workers in the state. Medicaid reductions under the Republican health care bill would curtail those jobs and hurt economic growth, especially in rural communities.

Pushing costs onto older Americans, who tend to live in rural communities. Under the Senate Republican bill, in 2026, a 64-year old with an income of $56,800 would pay $20,500 annually for a silver-level health insurance plan -- more than one-third of his or her entire income. That's more than eight times what the same person would pay under current law, which is $6,800.

Enabling insurance companies to impose lifetime maximums on coverage. Such a change would make it unaffordable for many North Dakotans with life-threatening or long-term illnesses or disorders to get the treatment they need to live. Two out of three farmers and ranchers, like those that depend on Southwest Healthcare services in Bowman, have a pre-existing condition, like asthma, diabetes, or a chronic injury.

Taking away coverage for treating opioid abuse. The cuts to Medicaid would take away coverage from many North Dakotans seeking treatment for opioid abuse and addiction as it is the primary payer for opioid addiction and substance use disorder service, and it pays for over a third of all medication-assisted treatment.

Heitkamp has long said there are good pieces of the health reform law and parts that need to be fixed. Since 2013, she has regularly held her health care advisory board meetings comprised of health care leaders across North Dakota to talk about how to improve health care. Over the past three and a half years, she has offered many reforms to make the health reform law work better for families and businesses. Just last week, Heitkamp led 15 of her Democratic colleagues senators on the floor of the U.S. Senate in calling on Republicans to work with them to pass commonsense legislation to immediately provide certainty in the health care marketplaces and lower premiums for consumers.