In an opinion piece this week, the editorial board of the weekly agricultural newspaper AgWeek insisted that rural health care has reached a dire state, and must be addressed now.
When it comes to heath care, writes AgWeek, “the worry is greater today than it's ever been.” Hospitals have been closing across rural America at a troubling pace. Many agriculturalists have taken jobs away from the farm, just so they can have health care.
Last November, rural America was the driving force behind the election of a new president, and much of that change had to do with a need to fix rural health care.
AgWeek wrote that they didn’t know the answer. But, the board insisted, something must be done. “What we need” the editorial reads, “is more listening and less bickering. . . . People on every level of government need to come together and figure out realistic ways to make this system work in a logical, cost-effective manner.”