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ATLANTA () — The final few days under the gold dome has lawmakers focusing on public health.
Democratic lawmakers say Medicaid expansion would help bring federal dollars to expand access.
“Whether its like diabetes or specific chronic conditions., I think we need full Medicaid expansion and now GA is one of only 11 states in the country that has chosen to not fully expand Medicaid,” State Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook (D-Savannah).
State Rep. Lynn Gladney (D-Augusta), “Particularly right now we are concerned about Medicare unwinding and those who are right now eligibility that they do and go back in and do the re-eligibility to maintain the benefits and services right now.”
Republican lawmakers say we need to hire more nurses and doctors to provide service given the shortage of staff.
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“We are prepared to do that in the state,” State Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah) said. “There is an excellent plan by the Department of Community Health and an automated way to get help for those in Medicaid and get them in.”
Just this week, Governor Kemp announced three point five million dollars to help with nursing programs and reduce wait lists, and increase student capacity to graduate more healthcare professionals.
“Workforce is a challenge in every industry like healthcare, logistics or hospitality but workforce is an issue,” Rep. Westbrook stated.
State lawmakers introduced around 150 bills this session alone to prioritize healthcare including ones to lower the cost of prescription drugs and surprise billing reduction.
