Politicians have been failing rural Georgia for decades. Since Nathan Deal was elected governor, we’ve seen six rural hospitals close, making it the third highest state in the nation for hospital closures. Long after most of the United States has bounced back from the Great Recession, rural Georgians are still having a difficult time finding… [Read More]
How long do you want to live? How long will you live?
There’s a 25 year life expectancy difference across neighborhoods in Georgia. In Georgia, the neighborhood with the shortest life expectancy is just five miles south of Macon, Ga. With a poverty rate over fifty percent, the life expectancy is just over 63 years. However, Vinings, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, has a poverty rate under… [Read More]
Kemp vs. Abrams: Who will fight for better access to health care?
When it comes to expanding access to health care, gubernatorial candidates Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp could not be further apart. Although moves on the federal level last year dampened the outlook for both the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion, closing the coverage gap in Georgia would mean an additional 473,000 Georgians would have… [Read More]
Kemp slams immigration on bus tour
As part of his gubernatorial campaign’s bus tour, Sec. of State Brian Kemp gave a talk inside of what was once a jail cell advocating a crackdown on immigration. As has become typical of the Republican rhetoric on immigration, his speech was full of hateful, confusing half-truths. The crux of his talk was about how… [Read More]
New health care bill is a Band-Aid on a gaping wound
A rural health care bill, HB 769, passed a House committee on Tuesday. The bill has received a lot of attention, but it’s missing a crucial component — Medicaid expansion. At this point, any health care bill that doesn’t include ending Georgia’s Medicaid blockade is putting a Band-Aid on a deadly, gaping wound. Rep. Betty… [Read More]
Local health care suffers under lack of state leadership
Real access to healthcare is an achievable goal, but when politicians weathering the legislative session in Atlanta play politics with people’s health, communities are left scrambling to do their best in a broken system. The state needs to do more to make it possible for small, rural hospitals to stay open, and for people living… [Read More]
Bernie Sanders’s universal health care bill would save Georgia lives
Today, Sen. Bernie Sanders is introducing legislation that would expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program. At least 15 Democratic senators are backing the Sanders’s Medicare for All Act of 2017 – that’s one-third of the Senate Democratic Caucus and includes just about every Democrat seriously considering a presidential run in 2020. “This is… [Read More]
Invest in rural Georgia
Rural Georgia is home to about half the state’s population and a favorite talking point of politicians. But infrastructure issues continue to be one of the most pressing problems rural areas face, and both state and federal leaders need to prove they are committed to doing more than just talking about our rural communities. The… [Read More]
Rural hospitals face financial troubles
Rural Georgia hospitals could face trouble as Trump and other Republican leaders struggle with healthcare policy. The push to repeal Obamacare has failed — for now — although Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue both voted for all three versions of the repeal Senate Republicans tried to push through late last month. The Trump… [Read More]
Tell Ga. Senators to oppose new healthcare bill today!
The Senate health care bill just released Thursday does not bode well for many Georgians. Our rural communities will be some of the most impacted by the proposed cuts to Medicaid, higher premiums and reduced consumer protections. So many rural communities are already facing the devastating impacts of hospital closures or cuts to services. Pregnant… [Read More]
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