So ... Let's Be Positive

President Trump is driving me bat-shit crazy, and I would love to go into all the reasons I think he is horrible for our country. But instead, let's be positive. Let's talk about Mayor Pete and some specifics.

He has a number of specific actionable plans that he has proposed. One regards his plans for health in Rural America. In cities we tend to see health care as a problem of money. But in many rural areas, the problem isn't just the cost, but the access to doctors. General practitioners have left the rural parts of America (and for Europeans, remember how vast "rural" American is).

Buttigieg's plan addresses this in many parts. First by expanding the Affordable Care Act to include a public option for those that want to buy into it. This is part of his "Medicare for all who want it" plan, that would expand the Affordable Care Act into the entire country. Many "red" states" (i.e., those states run  by Republicans) haven't expanded Medicare for all eligible people because they don't like the idea of everyone getting medical coverage at a reduced rate (I don't know why).

Second, his plan would foster more doctors to work in rural areas by increasing loan forgiveness for medical professionals that live and work in rural areas. It would open opportunities for immigrant medical professionals that practice in under served rural areas. And it would increase the payments to doctors in rural areas above those reimbursements in urban areas.

By doing this, an more (full plan here), Buttigieg hopes to reduce a rural / urban life expectancy imbalance that is higher than anytime int he last 50 years and growing bigger all the time.

It is a reasonable plan that doesn't cost a zillion dollars to implement, but does address a major problem in rural areas.