All Georgians deserve access to quality, affordable health care. No one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and putting food on the table. Yet too many Georgians face impossible choices between affording a trip to the doctor and paying their bills.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia was failing this basic test on multiple levels.
We are in the midst of a maternal mortality crisis, which is also a crisis of racial inequity—more new mothers die of childbirth-related consequences than any other state in the nation, and Black mothers die at rates that are three to four times those of white mothers in our state. Georgia also has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. Instead of addressing these issues, however, in 2019 Georgia passed an unconstitutional abortion ban that could result in criminal penalties against patients seeking constitutionally protected health care, as well as the doctors providing such care.
Despite our high GDP, Georgia is one of the worst states in the nation in terms of the uninsured, access to health care, and access to mental health care services, particularly for our young people. Increased unemployment and underemployment triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened health care coverage for hundreds of thousands more Georgia workers.
With leaders like me in the state house, Georgia has the power to do better. With greater access to quality, affordable care, we can build a more prosperous Georgia.
As representative of State House District 45, I will work to:
As a state representative, I will work to:
Expand Medicaid, providing nearly a half million Georgians with access to quality, affordable healthcare while creating more than 50,000 new jobs for Georgians.
Increase support for substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Protect the reproductive rights of all Georgians, and their rights to make their own healthcare decisions in consultation with their doctor, without government interference.
Expand healthcare delivery mechanisms for underserved populations, including telemedicine.