News Channel 10 - Congressman Mac Thornberry Addresses Healthcare Concerns

News Article

By Ashley Paredez

Area residents are experiencing healthcare problems unique to our region.

Congressman Mac Thornberry came to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Tuesday to discuss upcoming legislation and healthcare reform.

He says our area continues to see a decrease in doctors who will take Medicaid and Medicare patients; which causes another problem, many people are having to travel long distances to find a physician.

More residents are also having to go to emergency rooms for treatment because they don't have insurance.

"Health insurance is getting more and more expensive. There are a number of reforms that can help contain the cost of health insurance. One we talked about is being able to buy your health insurance across state lines to get more competition. Also, some medical malpractice reforms to hold down those costs a little bit," says area Congressman Mac Thornberry, (R) Clarendon.

Thornberry hopes Texas could one day develop its own system for medicaid.

We're told if no changes are made to Medicaid and Medicare, the whole federal budget will be nothing but healthcare and Social Security in the 2040 time frame.

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