Rick Jackson Announces Opposition to Medicaid Expansion

Rick Jackson Announces Opposition to Medicaid Expansion

In the latest sign of Republicans’ race to the right, gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson today announced that he opposes Medicaid expansion, a position shared by the entire Republican gubernatorial field. Georgia is one of ten states that has yet to expand Medicaid, denying health care to hundreds of thousands of Georgians and closing nine rural hospitals.

In the same interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jackson said he couldn’t think of one area where he disagreed with the Trump administration. It’s a shocking remark. Trump’s tax law has significantly exacerbated Georgia’s health care crisis. Georgia has already lost 190,000 ACA enrollees and St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in northeast Georgia was forced to close its labor and delivery unit as a result of Medicaid cuts in Trump’s budget law. Despite the devastating impacts, Jackson has joined his fellow Republican candidates in embracing the president’s agenda.

“Rick Jackson today made clear that he will fight tooth and nail to block access to affordable, quality health care for hundreds of thousands of Georgians,” said DGA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. “By opposing Medicaid expansion and backing Trump’s cuts to health care, Jackson and the entire Republican field are running to make health care more expensive and out of reach for Georgia families.”

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