After kicking off the program with a consumer story from The Only Doctor documentary, we were joined by an accomplished panel of state legislators. Senators Sonya Halpern, Ben Watson, and Rep. Sharon Cooper discussed some of the most pressing issues that are likely to be considered during this year's legislative session.

Rep. Cooper spoke about how changes to Certificate of Need (CON) (how hospitals and other health facilities are regulated) will be a major issue in both the Senate and the House. Sen. Watson described a need to focus on medical education to sustain and fulfill workforce shortages. Sen. Halpern connected a shortage of Black doctors (and other providers of color) to poor maternal health here in Georgia; she also called for more waiver slots for people with developmental disabilities to help address the long waiting list in Georgia. When asked about the Medicaid unwinding, Rep. Cooper pointed out how much work the Department of Community Health has had on its plate over the last year or so: the rollout of Pathways, revalidation for providers who see Medicaid members as patients, re-bidding the contracts for Georgia's Medicaid insurance companies, the unwinding itself.

Rep. Cooper weighed in on the House's November hearing that addressed Georgia's lack of Medicaid expansion. She briefly noted that an Arkansas-style Medicaid expansion is appealing to her.

All three panelists agreed that the state needs to take a closer look at maternal health. To help inform conversations about maternal health in Georgia, we are sharing the following resources:

• According to America's Health Rankings, maternal mortality rates are more than 2x higher for Black Georgians compared to white Georgians. Hispanic women have lower rates than either white or Black Georgians. (See "View all Populations" link.)
• Coverage of and resources from the Maternal Health Symposium at Emory University in November 2023
• From the Center for Reproductive Rights: Maternal Health in Georgia
• Georgia's Maternal Mortality Review Committee webpage and reports are available here.
•  United Nations Population Fund: Maternal Health of Women and Girls of African Descent in the Americas

When asked about HB 520 – last year's large mental health and substance use bill, Sen. Halpern reminded the audience that the House has approved a version of the bill and it now sits in the Senate Health & Human Services committee for considerations. She added that there are plans to move some of the initiatives forward even if the entirety of the bill is not passed. Workforce and licensure were both discussed as critical areas to address to continue to ensure that the state has necessary mental health and substance use recovery providers.