Screenshot/White House Dr. Mehmet Oz was loudly condemned for referring to robot ultrasounds as pretty cool on Friday, with many Democrats highlighting a lack of doctors that forced the use of machines in healthcare. Oz, who runs the nation's Medicare and Medicaid programs, joined the visibly bored President Donald Trump and other healthcare advisers for a roundtable discussion about health care in rural America.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz said the fund is intended to improve rural health outcomes that have worsened over decades, while avoiding costly new construction. "This is a massive effort to change the unfortunate reality that has overtaken rural healthcare in America, which is that your ZIP code has started to predict your life expectancy," Oz told reporters. He said the money will also support other pilot projects across the country.
Located in Lone Pine, a town at the base of Mt. Whitney with just 1,300 residents, Southern Inyo Healthcare District is the only hospital within a nearly 60-mile radius. It's the closest stop for injured hikers and dehydrated tourists visiting Whitney or nearby Death Valley, which regularly receives over 1 million visitors per year. Without it there would be a 136-mile stretch between the next closest hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
The federal budget allocated a record-setting $170 billion for immigration enforcement. The money is set to go toward expanding detention facilities and hiring new agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After pledging in June to protect the agriculture industry from crackdowns, President Trump reversed course a few days later. Now, as California's annual grape harvest begins, the state's wine community is on edge.
