Mike Kennedy

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Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Westerman for the time to speak. Our constituents know there is too often a gap between the rules Washington writes and the realities Americans face. Nowhere is that gap more apparent than in our healthcare system. I know that reality well. I have been a doctor for 25 years and continue to see patients. I sit with families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and I see firsthand how frustrating paperwork and red tape can be when what matters most is getting someone the care that they need. That experience is why I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 8658, the Indian Health Service Emergency Claims Parity Act. This bill is simple: Put patients before paperwork. Today, when an American Indian or Alaska Native patient receives emergency care outside the Indian Health Service, the IHS must be notified within 72 hours. When missed, a family can be left with the bill for care that should have been covered. Mr. Speaker, that rule was written from behind a desk, not beside a hospital bed. Anyone who has worked in healthcare knows that 72 hours can pass in what feels like an instant. Families should be focused on their loved one's recovery, not on whether they met a Federal notification deadline. H.R. 8658 extends that window to 15 days so families can take care of their loved ones first and the paperwork second. This is what good government should look like. When a rule does not reflect the reality people face, we should fix it. When government bureaucracy gets in the way of common sense, we should cut through it. My congressional colleagues and I understand that. We need a government that is smarter, quicker, and more responsive to the people it serves. We need a government that is streamlined and close to home, not bloated and distant. This is one practical, commonsense fix, and there are many more like it across our government and throughout our healthcare system. I thank Chairman Westerman, my colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee, our outstanding staff on the Committee as well as my staff, and my bipartisan colleagues for their work on this fix and their commitment to making government work for the people. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8658.