releases: https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=C2CAF770-55E7-44C3-B5F4-8F2C5C57F7C9
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=C2CAF770-55E7-44C3-B5F4-8F2C5C57F7C9 | Hatch Urges Passage of His Rural Health Access Bill Ahead of Senate Vote | 2016-11-29 | 2016 | 2016-11 | Republican | House | UT | Orrin Hatch | H000338 | www.hatch.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member and the former Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, spoke on the Senate Floor today about the importance of the ECHO Act—a bill he introduced with Senator Brian Schatz, D-HI, to increase vital access to high-quality health care in hard-to-reach regions. “Our legislation improves medical services for all Americans by providing healthcare professionals in rural and underserved communities with access to a network of peers and specialists who can teach specialty care,” Hatch said. “By connecting doctors and nurses with teams of experts, patients can receive the care they need, when they need it. And most importantly, patients won’t have to travel long distances to receive treatments; they can stay close to home and receive treatment from doctors they know and trust. [YouTube Link] On the importance of the ECHO Act for Utah: Telehealth is a topic of particular interest in my home state of Utah. Under the existing Project ECHO programs, medical experts based at the University of Utah use videoconferencing to train healthcare professionals who are hundreds, sometimes even thousands of miles away. As we work to improve telehealth, models like those in the ECHO Act will enable tele-mentorship and provider education to occur via avenues more tailored to health professionals’ needs. This customization is an essential step to achieving person-centered care. Senator Schatz praised Senator Hatch’s efforts: [YouTube Link] The full speech, as prepared for delivery, is below: Mr. President, today, the Senate is voting on S. 2873, the ECHO Act. In April, Senator Schatz and I introduced this bill to highlight the impressive work of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity-building models. One such model that has brought promising new ideas to our nation’s healthcare delivery system is Project ECHO, which started in New Mexico and quickly expanded to Utah. Today, Project Echo is thriving in more than 30 states. Mr. President, our bill draws on the success of Project ECHO to improve health services on a national scale. Our proposal is not political; rather, it is the culmination of a broad bipartisan effort to bring about meaningful healthcare reform that will benefit families across the country—in red states and blue states alike. Our legislation improves medical services for all Americans by providing healthcare professionals in rural and underserved communities with access to a network of peers and specialists who can teach specialty care. By connecting doctors and nurses with teams of experts, patients can receive the care they need, when they need it. And most importantly, patients won’t have to travel long distances to receive treatments; they can stay close to home and receive treatment from doctors they know and trust. In today’s bustling healthcare environment, policymakers often forget that healthcare delivery works differently in urban and rural settings. To bridge the urban-rural divide, the ECHO Act brings expertise to providers serving rural populations by enabling them to gain the skills they need to care for people living in their communities. Through this exchange, urban providers, in return, can learn how rural health is operationalized in real time. Ultimately, our proposal prioritizes rural health needs and reconciles differences in care delivery for diverse populations. Today, I am grateful that a majority of my colleagues have agreed to support this forward-thinking, commonsense legislation. Like the 21st Century Cures bill, our proposal demonstrates our common commitment to improving healthcare for all patients. Telehealth is a topic of particular interest in my home state of Utah. Under the existing Project ECHO programs, medical experts based at the University of Utah use videoconferencing to train healthcare professionals who are hundreds, sometimes even thousands of miles away. As we work to improve telehealth, models like those in the ECHO Act will enable tele-mentorship and provider education to occur via avenues more tailored to health professionals’ needs. This customization is an essential step to achieving person-centered care. Mr. President, as a body, we must be dedicated to improving health services for all Americans—no matter where they live. Through this bill, we are making significant progress towards achieving that goal. Using groundbreaking new technologies, the ECHO Act will enable us to take better care of our family members, neighbors, and friends. By putting communication front and center, Project Echo will allow health professionals to share innovations and new discoveries in an efficient, timely manner. Before turning the floor over to my esteemed colleague from Hawaii—whose collaboration on this proposal has proven invaluable—I first wish to share how our legislation came to be. Several months ago, doctors at the University of Utah—including Dr. Terry Box and Dr. Vivian Lee, as well as some of the most renowned disease experts in the country—reached out to me to demonstrate how Project ECHO was benefiting families across Utah and the intermountain region. Their innovative approach to telehealth piqued my interest. As it turns out, Senator Schatz had a very similar experience with his own constituents. After discussing our shared experiences, we joined forces to draft a bill that would allow Americans in rural counties across the country to reap the benefits of telehealth. The founder of Project ECHO, Dr. Sanjeev [SAN-jeev] Arora [Ah-ROR-a], was an instrumental partner throughout this process. He worked with us to share ideas from ECHO hubs across the country, allowing us to incorporate a broad array of viewpoints. With his help, we were able to hear from countless stakeholders and medical professionals who understood the potential of our legislation. We also worked alongside the leadership of the HELP Committee. With the assistance of Senators Alexander and Murray, as well as the Majority and Minority Leaders, we were able to shepherd this legislation through the committee process and bring it to the Senate floor. This bill was born from a bottom-up approach, which enabled us to solicit ideas and opinions from numerous healthcare professionals across the country. Thanks to their input and the support of Members on both sides of the aisle, we are poised to pass legislation that will dramatically improve the quality of our nation’s healthcare. I wish to thank all those who assisted in this bipartisan effort. Today is a victory for everyone. Mr. President, I yield the floor. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |