Sebelius asks rural advocates to help her see that reform law achieves its promise for rural America

Photo by Shawn Poynter

The health-care reform law is designed to see that "Where you live shouldn’t determine your chance for a healthy life," Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the National Rural Assembly gathering Tuesday, pleading with the mostly liberal audience for help in enrolling in health-insurance plans, starting Oct. 1, the people the law is designed to help.

"We know that just making health insurance available isn’t enough," Sebelius said. "A lot of people have been uninsured or under-insured for so long that they don’t believe coverage will ever be within reach, or they don’t think this is for them, or they don't know how to make a good choice. ... Across rural, there are a lot of different health challenges compared to a lot of cities." She said rural people are more likely to be uninsured, and are harder to reach. "We know that might make enrollment and outreach more difficult, so I’m here to ask for some help."

Sebelius, a former governor of Kansas, cited injustices that she said rural Americans suffer from the current health-insurance system. In most rural states, she said, a single insurer has more than half the market, and in in many states no rules apply to the individual market, allowing insurers to charge what they please and cover whom they please. "Pre-existing health conditions can be defined pretty broadly," Sebelius said, even if "at some point you sought mental-health treatment." Under the new law, she said, "Insurance companies will actually have to compete."

For a story by Mary Annette Pember on Sebelius' speech, with a 4½-minute video excerpt, from the Daily Yonder, click here.