Republican State Sen. Renee Unterman says it’s time for Georgia to ask for federal health care dollars that come with Medicaid expansion under Obamacare.
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Unterman, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, said she wanted Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but since that didn’t happen, Georgia has few choices.
“Well if you’re not going to expand Medicaid what are you going to do?” she said, referring to Georgia’s struggling rural hospitals that continue to cover large numbers of uninsured patients.
“You can kick the can down the road, but eventually those chickens come home to roost and that’s exactly what’s happening with these rural hospitals, where they can’t keep their doors open anymore.”
Dozens of rural hospitals are struggling to stay open in Georgia and at least six had to close over the past few years for various reasons.
Some advocates say the state’s refusal to take federal dollars to insure more people under Obamacare accelerated their demise.
Unterman says Georgians have been paying federal taxes and should get the money back in healthcare dollars, but only if the state will get flexibility on how to spend them.
“Give us our money we sent to Washington, D.C. We know best how to take care of our people and that’s what we want to do.”
Flexibility is part of the latest bipartisan healthcare proposal in Congress, which is supported by Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson.
Unterman said accessing federal health care dollars will be a big part in next year’s state legislative session, which begins in January.
