Dems push Medicaid expansion for left-behind rural Georgia

In the southwest Georgia hamlet of Arlington, where a hospital has been vacant for nine years, health care concerns still linger. There is little assurance that Calhoun County’s lone ambulance will arrive swiftly if transporting a patient to a distant hospital, rates for health insurance are exorbitant, and many inhabitants report poor health.

Sam Robinson, a local resident, stated, “If it’s out on a call, you may as well toss them in the truck and attempt to get somewhere.”

Arlington, Georgia, with a population of 1,209, exemplifies rural Georgia’s health care challenges.

Democrats, including their contender for governor, Stacey Abrams, are highlighting these issues as they campaign for office this year, urging Georgia to join 38 other states in extending Medicaid to include all able-bodied people.

Abrams kicked off her campaign to replace Republican Brian Kemp at a shuttered hospital in neighboring Cuthbert, highlighting an issue that was key to her 2018 loss to Kemp.

This month, Abrams told reporters at a video news conference, “We’re talking about someone who walks in for a checkup and is diagnosed with stage one pancreatic cancer.” In Georgia, they are not entitled to a follow-up appointment unless they pay privately.