“Providing international leadership to optimize health and quality of life along the U.S.-Mexico border is our “global perspective” for the City of Laredo Health Department. Although, our city faces such challenges as an inadequate health care delivery system, a significant uninsured and under insured population, and being medically under served, our Health Department continues to push forward to provide health care and prevention services. We ask you to consider items in the health agenda that include the Medicaid reimbursement, that would give equal pay to local physicians who provide the same services doctors in other cities provide; or look at the obesity reduction and diabetes prevention program, a pilot program that the health department is currently administering and has had some promising results.”