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Editor,

I have concerns about the current state of healthcare in Sanders County. I am very worried about the cost and availability of health insurance in Sanders County and in our country as a whole. How can anyone feel confident that their healthcare is sufficient or secure for even the near future?

Healthcare is at the center of a political storm in Washington and the outcome of this fight is uncertain. If you are not worried, either you are lucky to have health insurance that can withstand the political knife fight, or you are living in a bubble that is soon to burst. Our Sanders County healthcare providers are facing enormous challenges resulting from the turmoil and uncertainty created by the ongoing political battle in our country.

In rural Sanders County, hospitals, clinics, doctors, therapists and caregivers all need to be paid for the care they give. Where is the money to pay them going to come from? Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and Veterans Benefits are all threatened with cuts or changes that could negatively affect our rural healthcare availability and quality. How many people in Sanders County, or in all of Montana for that matter, could pay for a huge, unplanned medical expense out of their pocket? If our already sketchy healthcare safety net is allowed to fail or is simply axed for political reasons, our rural healthcare providers could fail and the lives of those living in rural areas will become much more difficult.

Nationwide, 79 rural hospitals that have closed since 2010 and the additional 673 facilities that are on the brink of shutting their doors, the U.S. is at risk of losing a third of its rural hospitals in the near future. We need to protect and improve our access to healthcare, we have and find a way to stabilize it for the future. We also have to support our local healthcare providers.

Dave Lyman

Heron, Montana