OKLAHOMA CITY – Heartland Forward joins state legislators and government officials to announce the launch of theHeartland Health Caucus, a nonpartisan legislative and policy organization comprised of key health leaders across six heartland states: Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The Caucus serves as a forum to exchange new ideas in addressing pressing health issues and accelerating new and consistent policy approaches across states.
The Caucus Objectives:
- Develop proposals to simplify the health care system by advancing state public policy and initiatives to decrease the complexities patients face in accessing health care within their communities.
- Advance legislation to address heartland health needs to solve for pressing issues. Initial areas of focus include: telehealth, workforce and maternal health.
- Champion health as an economic issue through supporting legislation, programs and thought leadership to highlight how a healthier population will lead to a robust workforce and thriving communities.
Rep. Ellyn Hefner, Co-Chair of the Heartland Health Caucus said: “I hear regularly from constituents that we must do more to solve health care challenges. I believe the time is now to take bold policy actions to improve health care outcomes and I am thrilled to join the Heartland Health Caucus to achieve real results.”
The Caucus is the result of a groundbreaking report by Heartland Forward, entitled: Health Care Access in the Heartland, a study on how to improve health outcomes in rural and underserved communities by improving access to care.
The report included policy recommendations:
- Increasing affordability and reducing complexity of the health care system.
- Addressing health care shortages by increasing access to telehealth.
- Bolstering the health care workforce through increasing the labor supply, streamlining occupational licensure and expanding the scope of practice.