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Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is one of
several Democratic candidates vying to be the presidential
nominee who are making big efforts in rural America that swung
heavily to Republican President Donald Trump when he won the
White House in 2016.
Buttigieg wants to guarantee that all rural Americans obtain
health insurance by offering them the option of
government-backed Medicare coverage, in a bid to force private
insurance companies to lower costs. It is something he calls a
"Medicare For All Who Want It" plan.
This is a more moderate approach to healthcare coverage than
some of his Democratic rivals, including progressive standard
bearers and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and
Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who want to transfer all Americans to
government-funded health coverage, known as Medicare for All.
Buttigieg also wants to improve technology so more people can be
treated from or near their homes, stop hospital closures, train
and attract more doctors and nurses to rural areas and reduce
care shortages with an emphasis on maternal care, primary care,
mental health and addiction.
Buttigieg said he would also strengthen the Indian Health
Service, a federal government department charged with providing
medical and public health services to Native American tribes and
Alaska Native people.
“It is time to usher in a new era for rural America,” Buttigieg
said in a statement as the plan was released. “We need to lift
rural communities up as places of opportunity, both for this
generation and future ones. That work begins with securing the
health of all rural residents.”
Buttigieg's plan follows other proposals for rural America that
include healthcare provisions including from Warren, Sanders,
former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senators Kirsten
Gillibrand from New York and Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota.
They are among 24 Democrats vying to become the nominee to take
on Trump in next November's election.
(Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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