Did you catch this message from Rick last week?

Here's the latest in the rural health care space:

1. Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment: Rural residents are more likely to be prescribed opioids for pain and less likely to have access to specialized substance abuse treatment and medications that treat opioid use disorder due to a shortage of options compared to their more urban counterparts. Fortunately, $990,557 has been awarded to Whidbey Island to ensure residents have equitable access to medication, counseling, and behavioral therapy services.
2. Serving Veterans: Rick reintroduced legislation that would make it easier and safer for veterans to keep their medical appointments and access quality health care, regardless of their zip codes.
3. Reducing Shortages: Rick supported legislation that would expand affordable housing and child care, and is working to increase funding to train health professionals and address nursing education, practice, retention and recruitment.
4. Increasing Capacity: Three rural access hospitals in our district provide 24/7 emergency care services, and the region's long-term inpatient psychiatric facilities for youth have very limited capacity — Rick is supporting legislation to make meaningful investments in pediatric mental health care and increase capacity at hospitals.
5. Reproductive Health Care: Right now, there isn't a single in-person abortion service provider in Island County. Rick's protecting a doctor's ability to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth to ensure patients in rural communities have options. It's not just about abortion care — Rick supported additional funding for STI clinics to respond to a rise in monkeypox.

Rick knows what it takes to get things accomplished for underserved communities in Northwest Washington and beyond, and it's critical that we have his advocacy in the House. Will you make a contribution today to help re-elect Rick?

Team Rick

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rick Larsen [[email protected]]
Date: Mon, Mov 20, 2023 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Improving health policies in rural WA-02 
To: [email protected]

Ensuring access to high quality, affordable health care is essential for everyone, but especially challenging for folks who live in rural Northwest Washington communities.

In Washington, our rural hospitals serve upwards of 70% of the geographic area and 15% of our population. What sets rural hospitals apart from their counterparts in more densely populated areas? They create critical connections for local health care services and a bridge to specialized care outside the community at bigger medical facilities.

My goal is to better understand and address the unique challenges rural communities face in delivering health care to enable all people to live healthy lives, so that is why I have joined a bipartisan Congressional Caucus on rural health.

Here is what I will be working on with the caucus:

• Improving access to specialized substance abuse prevention and treatment
• Breaking down barriers for military families and veterans
• Increasing the number of beds for long-term care and pediatric behavioral health
• Addressing workforce shortages
• Improving access to reproductive health care

Of course, I will continue to champion federal investments in resources and innovative solutions to lower drug prices and improve health care access and outcomes in rural communities.

I am excited to get to work with the caucus to improve health outcomes for every zip code. If you would like to support this effort, consider chipping in to my re-election campaign.

Rick