Greenville Reporter

Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D., expressed his approval following the House Ways and Means Committee's passage of two pieces of legislation aimed at improving rural health care. The legislations in question are H.R. 8235, the Rural Physician Workforce Preservation Act, and H.R. 8154, which seeks to permanently extend telehealth services for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).

"Protecting high-quality, accessible, and affordable health care for rural communities is one of my top priorities," said Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. "As a physician of over 35 years, serving 29 counties in Eastern North Carolina, I uniquely understand the challenges rural America faces in accessing care. We must address the critical physician workforce shortage our non-metro communities experience and preserve the opportunity for all patients to utilize telehealth services."

Murphy added that it is widely recognized that medical students from or residents rotating into rural areas are more likely to practice there after their studies. He expressed gratitude towards Chairman Smith and his colleagues for supporting these bills that he believes are crucial to Eastern North Carolinians.

H.R. 8235 ensures that unallocated graduate medical education (GME) slots created in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 go to hospitals located in rural areas. This bill passed with a vote count of 24-16.

Meanwhile, H.R. 8154 was included in H.R. 8261, the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act which passed unanimously with a vote count of 41-0.