COEUR d'ALENE - It was a 15-minute tour to put a face on health care.

Freshman 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador stopped by Dirne Community Health Care on Thursday - not to solve insurance and financial problems - but to see first hand the facility in action.

"We just wanted to let him see the place," said Mike Baker, Dirne CEO. "To put a face on it so when he's out there making decisions, he'll remember places like this."

Like reducing spending. Health care hasn't been spared by lawmakers when it comes to reducing budgets.

Recently $600,000 million has been cut from federal funds that could have gone to the field, including to the local facility which had its eyes on expanding to satellite offices in the area.

With high unemployment, reduced wages, and companies forced to drop health insurance coverage for their employees, Dirne is being called upon more than ever for its affordable health care. Demand increased 17 percent in 2009, and 25 percent 2010. Around one of every 10 residents in Coeur d'Alene uses Dirne.

So what do you do if the demand is there but the budget isn't?

"I don't really have an answer," Labrador said. "I'm here to learn."

The partnerships require federal, state and local efforts.

Incentivising insurance could help, too, Labrador said. He said if nothing is done he expects health care costs to skyrocket. There has to be a way to reduce spending while allowing health care facilities like Dirne to serve.

"We're spending too much money in the United States right now," he said.

A recent study from George Washington University estimated that health centers across the nation produced $24 billion in annual health system savings.

Each trip to the ER costs $455 for the community, compared to $105 at Dirne.

"We're all allies in this," Baker said. "A little bit of continued support goes a long way."

Bob Ritchie, who moved to Coeur d'Alene from the Silver Valley, showed up to share his success story. Uninsured, the care provider helped him with his diabetes.

"It's the best place in the world," Ritchie said.

No answers, just a face to the place.

"That's why I came," Labrador said.