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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Top Ten List for Health Care Reform in Rural MT

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Thursday, April 2, 2009   

Helena, MT – Health coverage that out-prices small business budgets, limited access to emergency care and a shortage of doctors and nurses. Those three issues are in a new "Top 10" report of concerns for rural areas of Montana and other parts of the country.

Jon Bailey with the Center for Rural Affairs says as the nation debates health care reform, health care elements for people living outside metro areas need special attention.

"Most places in rural America are facing severe shortages of health-care professionals, and it doesn't look like it's getting any better. Health-care providers are getting older and nearing retirement age."

Other issues listed in the "Top 10" include an aging rural population, more chronic illness in rural areas, the need for preventive care and wellness resources, greater dependence on public health insurance coverage, a lack of mental health services and an overburdened health-care delivery system.

Bailey says the rural Montana economy depends on the self-employed, like farmers and ranchers, and small family businesses. All of these are at a disadvantage in the current health insurance system, he adds.

"How do you create a health care system that's not only accessible and affordable for businesses, but for the smallest businesses, which are a major part of rural America and rural economies?"

The report, "Rural America's Top Ten Issues in Health Care Reform Debate," is available at www.cfra.org.



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