Facing criticism that he has not offered specifics on his health reform strategy, President Obama spoke before a joint session of Congress last night outlining the details of his newly-formed plan. In the speech, the president touched on the importance of health reform for rural America and specifically mentioned one of the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) long-time member organizations, Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania. He emphasized that rural providers like Geisinger offer “high-quality care at costs below average.” Though only a small component of his speech, the very mention of a rural provider like Geisinger implies his willingness to give rural America a seat at the health reform table.

Now it is our job to remind Obama that ensuring access in rural America is vital to achieving true health reform.

• Join NRHA’s Grassroots Working Group and participate in weekly conference calls, get updates on reform progress, and strategize going forward. To join, send a blank e-mail to
join-grassroots@lists.wisc.edu

• Check out the Rural Health Voices blog and the Health Reform page for the latest news from NRHA’s government affairs staff in Washington, D.C.