Raphael Warnock: “since my first day here in the Senate-- and even before that--one of the issues I have been working to address is how my…”

“since my first day here in the Senate-- and even before that--one of the issues I have been working to address is how my own home State of Georgia, where State leaders have been digging in their heels, refusing to expand Medicaid--how it is that citizens can somehow provide affordable healthcare to their families-- nearly 500,000 Georgians who are uninsured. They are in the Medicaid gap. That is why last week I introduced the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, legislation that would create a program almost identical to Medicaid that is administered by the Federal Government and would allow people in States like Georgia who have not expanded Medicaid, an alternative path to health coverage because we know that Medicaid literally saves lives. I was proud to introduce this legislation with my colleagues Senators Baldwin and Ossoff and that it has the support of healthcare stakeholders in Georgia and from across the country. Entities like the Georgia Hospital Association and the Grady Health System understand how expanding Medicaid in Georgia will improve health outcomes across the State, strengthen our rural hospitals and healthcare workforce, and create good-paying jobs. Medicaid saves lives and also saves jobs. As it turns out, the right thing to do is also the smart thing to do. And so I am glad that this plan is on its way to being included in the forthcoming economic package, and I am going to do everything I can to keep pushing to make sure that it happens.…”