Top health official stops in Libby

LIBBY, Mont. - During the spring of 2009 when then-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had been nominated to head up the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus was among those first in line to set up a meeting.

If Sebelius wanted the support of Baucus, who chairs the committee that oversees Health and Human Services, then she would need to take Libby's asbestos problem seriously. In fact, he asked her to visit Libby to experience firsthand the devastation that had occurred in the picturesque northwestern Montana community.

Seventeen months later, Sebelius fulfilled that request. The nation's top health-care official and the state's senior senator met with Libby residents on Monday during a town hall meeting that lasted about one hour.

"I wanted her to come to Montana to see it, smell it, taste it," Baucus said during an interview.

"I'm here on the ground to make sure the program is working the way it should work," Sebelius said. "We are really here to listen."

A handful of local residents among the estimated 100 in attendance tossed out issues at Sebelius and Baucus. The pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act were mentioned along with personal stories that have affected the community.

"Right now, we want to take care of the population affected by this health emergency," Sebelius said. "I'm pleased that now there are health services."

Sebelius took a question from the audience about what could be done to bring a second doctor to Libby's Center for Asbestos Related Disease. Both she and Baucus were well aware of the situation and included the CARD clinic on their visit.

Sebelius said "they are trying to advertise and recruit and I believe there are more incentives to serve in underserved areas. We've got some tools now as part of the overall bill that was passed."

Baucus, who applauded the efforts of CARD's Dr. Brad Black, added about needing another physician, "It's well-planted in my brain here. We'll work on that with the same vigor."

One of the challenges associated with bringing a doctor into Libby involves the negative image that the community has developed through widespread postings on the Internet. Many locals also point to the media as a culprit for some of their tactics in covering the story.

A big part of the solution is local job creation.

Lincoln County Commissioner John Konzen later said Libby has three needs - to be cleaned, to acquire the appropriate health-care plan and for the Environmental Protection Agency "to step up and say when we're clean and we need them to broadcast that nationwide."

The EPA declared Libby as the first public health emergency and a $6 million grant followed. So far, Baucus said $1.7 million has been spent out of funding through the Federal Libby Amphibole Specialty Healthcare program - also known as FLASH.