Sen. Ricketts highlights rural healthcare priorities during Beatrice hospital visit

BEATRICE, Neb. (KLKN) – After touring the Beatrice Community Hospital on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts addressed how the $50 billion allocated through the Rural Transformation Healthcare Act will be used to strengthen healthcare access in rural communities.

He began the press conference by addressing the issues he was made aware of during his tour, including the healthcare workforce.

“Making sure that we have enough people who are trained, and how we can get more people into the healthcare profession. The second thing we talked about was getting reimbursement for telemedicine, Telehealth,” he said.

“The third thing is what we can do to improve Medicare Advantage, and the denials that come with it that keep people in limbo,” said Ricketts.

The senator offered solutions such as increased investment in technology, which he says can lead to improved database management and research on ‘hard-to-care-for’ populations.

He says he believes the Affordable Care Act caused healthcare costs to go up and suggests a solution.

“Republicans will come back with our own plans, with how we can truly drive down healthcare costs. For example, we pay health insurance companies $30 billion a year. Well, why don’t we just give that money straight to the people?” he said.

Another suggested solution is to bring back older models to identify those in need.

“Something that’s worked successfully in the past is that states have had these high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions, and that’s really a way to address those folks who are also getting insurance coverage.”

Senator Ricketts also foresees overall growth in Medicare: “Medicare is going to grow over $158 billion in the next 10 years.”

In response to the government shutdown and his return to Washington, he indicated that they currently have five bipartisan appropriation bills for funding programs that have already passed the appropriations committee.