Public option gets rural push

WASHINGTON — Rural residents have even more cause to support a public health insurance plan than those living in cities, advocates of such a plan said Thursday.

Many lawmakers who represent rural areas have reported hearing from constituents fiercely opposed to a public insurance option.

Those participating in Thursday’s event on Capitol Hill, however, said that opinion polling and anecdotal evidence indicate that substantial support for a public option exists among rural residents.

The Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb., and the Center for Community Change issued a joint report highlighting the particular health care challenges faced by those living in rural parts of the country.

“The majority of rural Americans are suffering silently in our broken health care system and want change now,” according to the report.

A key factor cited in the report is the reliance of rural economies on self-employment and small businesses. That creates a lack of employer-sponsored health insurance and means more people are left to seek out their own individual insurance coverage.

The report cites statistics showing that rural areas have twice as many underinsured individuals as their urban counterparts and that rural residents pay 22 percent more of their total health care costs than people living in or near metropolitan areas.

A real-life example offered in the report is Angel Romero Kiester of Lyons, Neb., Kiester said she was diagnosed with and treated for cervical cancer when she was 19 years old. At the time, she was covered by her father’s insurance.

Kiester, who now owns Cravings Cafe in Lyons, said she has gone 10 years without coverage and therefore without cancer screenings. She said that because of her pre-existing condition, she simply can’t afford health insurance.

She’s terrified that the cancer will resurface and that it will already be terminal.

Kiester said she’s heard from many people in her area who have struggled with similar issues and favor a public option, but that they are reluctant to speak out because the area is so politically conservative.

She predicted that that will change as the debate progresses.

“Once they realize that these are issues that we are all dealing with on a daily basis, then they will be more willing,” she said.

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., said that when he has spoken to constituents in Valentine, McCook and elsewhere, their overriding concern has been about too much government involvement in health care.

“I got a different flavor when I was out there,” Johanns said.

Rep. Adrian Smith, a Republican who represents Nebraska’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District, has said he hears often from constituents concerned about government control of health care. Smith spokesman Charles Isom said Thursday that Smith favors proposals to make it easier for people to pool their resources to buy insurance.

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202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com