Health care is tough for everyone everywhere in the United States. Though, one of the things that makes it tough for rural areas is the lack of doctors.
In Kittitas County, we have lost eight doctors over the last nine months. I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of doctors who go through medical school and decide the fastest way to pay off all those loans is to go into general practice in a small town.
I remember reading a book called “The Dance Of Legislation” back in college that talked about Sen. Warren Magnuson working a bill through the congress and the senate that gave incentives to doctors to move to small towns.
It looks like government (HEAVEN FORBID!) is bailing us out again by providing a grant to the Community Health Center of Yakima to fund a clinic in Ellensburg. It will start with two doctors on staff and work up to four.
This is exactly the kind of thing that flies in the face of the right wing nuts that think that government should ALWAYS get out of the way and let the private sector do it’s thing.