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A Medicaid move worth celebrating!

A rectangle divided diagonally near the middle. The left half has a blue background and says "April is Medicaid Awareness Month!" The right half has a picture of a male doctor in a white coat using his stethoscope to listen to the heart of a young Asian child.

Medicaid has been a fundamental part of Georgia’s health care system for 54 years. Medicaid covers half of Georgia kids, half of births in the state, and three out of four Georgians in long-term care (like nursing homes). Without Medicaid, low-income Georgia families would have no access to affordable, quality health care.

This month, we’re celebrating a Medicaid win for Georgia moms and babies! On April 4th, the Georgia General Assembly gave a final thumbs up for SB 338, a bill that allows new mothers to stay covered under Medicaid for 12 months (up from 6 months) after birth or miscarriage. Join us in saying “Thank You!”
Georgia’s maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the U.S. Women of color, especially Black women, experience maternal mortality rates up to 3x to 4x higher than their white counterparts in Georgia. Medicaid is a proven tool that can help close that gap and give moms the health coverage and access to care they need in the first year after having a baby.
 
With this move, our state lawmakers have demonstrated that they care about new moms and babies, and that they know Medicaid is a powerful policy that works for health of Georgians.
 
Our lawmakers could similarly expand Medicaid to cover Georgians who remain without access to health care. Almost half a million (490,000) Georgians are not able to meaningfully access Georgia’s health care system because our state has not expanded Medicaid to all low-income, uninsured adults. Georgians have been locked out of health coverage and health care for almost a decade simply because they don’t have enough money in their wallets and aren’t offered health insurance at work. Our state leaders have the power to fix this problem, just like they’ve acted to improve maternal health.
Celebrate Medicaid Awareness Month with us by thanking legislators for their leadership on Medicaid for moms and ask them to make another Medicaid move! Please take a minute to complete this thank you note to state leaders. Thank you!

Want to do more to celebrate Medicaid?

Cover Georgia celebrates Medicaid Awareness Month all throughout April. You can party with us all month long!

Learn more about Medicaid. Find out who is already covered by Medicaid in Georgia, how Medicaid benefits our health care system, and much more with these resources:

Spread the word on social media! Share one of our Facebook or Twitter posts and let others know that it’s time to take action on Medicaid expansion!

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