“More communities will be better served. More patients will receive care. More lives will be saved. Rural America will have what it deserves: high-quality healthcare that is available when you need it – where you need it.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor about the $50 billion Rural Healthcare Transformation Program, which was created by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and will deliver funding to every state.
Wyoming is set to receive $205 million in 2026 to support local hospitals, emergency services, and staffing healthcare workers.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“For 24 years, I practiced medicine in my home state of Wyoming. I know how important affordable, reliable, quality local care is for our citizens and our communities.
“In our frontier state, distance too often stands between patients and the care they need. I want everyone in Wyoming to be able to get the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a price they can afford. That’s why I fought last year to create the Rural Health Transformation Program.
“We begin this year celebrating historic news. Every state in America is now receiving the first round of funding from this new program. $205 million is heading straight to Wyoming. It is heading straight to our Critical Access Hospitals and Emergency Medical Services. This will allow us to address Wyoming’s unique healthcare challenges.
“Money is also heading to our community colleges. Now, they will have more money to strengthen, train, and retain nurses, lab technicians, and additional essential healthcare workers. If we want our healthcare professionals to remain local, we must train them locally. Now, hospitals, clinics, and health centers in vulnerable rural communities will have necessary resources. This will allow them to treat patients closer to home.
“More choices and better care is a direct result of the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law. The Rural Health Transformation Program is the largest federal investment in rural healthcare in American history.
“Democrats talk constantly about access to healthcare. Yet when Republicans proposed this vital rural healthcare program, every single Democrat voted against it. Then, Democrats disgracefully tried to defund it. When Democrats shut down the government last fall, one of their demands was cutting $50 billion from rural hospitals. That tells you exactly how little these far-left radicals value rural America. Democrats have a long history of thumbing their noses and turning their backs on rural communities.
“At the same time, Democrats voted last summer to continue to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants. They did this even as we uncover massive amounts of healthcare fraud in Minnesota. Scammers stole billions of taxpayer dollars.
“Republicans are committed to ensuring Americans have the healthcare they deserve.
“In September, I attended the grand opening of a new hospital in Pinedale, Wyoming. For years, the nearest hospital was 85 miles away. The 85 miles included curvy roads and a mountain pass. If the roads were closed due to weather, another hospital was more than 100 miles away in a different direction. The new Sublette County Hospital will save lives. Republicans want rural communities across America to have what Pinedale has now – care they need, from the doctor they choose, right where they need it.
“Regrettably, many other rural communities are not as fortunate. Since Obamacare became law fifteen years ago, over 100 rural hospitals have closed. It’s yet another broken promise from the failure that is Obamacare. Republicans are reversing that trajectory. We are strengthening hospitals, supporting providers, and keeping care closer to home.
“This is just the beginning. Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing now. More funding will follow every year for the next five years. More communities will be better served. More patients will receive care. More lives will be saved. Rural America will have what it deserves: high-quality healthcare that is available when you need it – where you need it.”
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