Georgia senators warn about ‘backward’ plans to cut Medicaid
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Georgia Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are addressing the impact of proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid on ordinary Georgians.
Ossoff held a virtual news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, while Warnock spoke at one Wednesday afternoon.
Warnock’s news conference came hours after President Donald Trump endorsed the House Republican budget plan, which includes cuts to Medicaid and other programs.
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“This is backward,” Warnock said. “It’s not only immoral; it’s impractical,. We’re making the American workforce sicker and weaker.”
Right now, more than 80 million adults and children are enrolled in the program.
Warnock said the proposed plans potentially set up deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening to shut down more rural hospitals.
Ossoff says more than 10% of Georgia adults, and two in five children would not be able to afford health care without Medicaid.
“So, I am sounding the alarm that these proposed drastic cuts to Medicaid will fundamentally damage the health and safety of my constituents in Georgia, will put kids at risk, pregnant women and nursing mothers at risk, seniors at nursing homes at risk, and hospitals across our state into dire financial jeopardy,” said Ossoff.
According to a report by The Atlanta Journal Constitution last year, 18 out of 30 rural hospitals in Georgia are at risk of closure and 12 hospitals in both rural and metro areas have closed in the state since 2013.
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Warnock said the cuts would also rip away health care from some of the nation’s most vulnerable communities, including thousands of Georgia seniors and children.
“A budget is more than a fiscal document. It is also a moral document. Show me your budget and I’ll show you who you think matters, who’s in and who’s out, who you think is expendable, where your priorities are,” Warnock said.
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The news conference was hosted by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and also included U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). The press conference is part of the Health Care Strike Team, created by Senate Democrats to push back on Republicans’ reconciliation efforts.
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