Apr 6, 2026 Rural hospitals across the Southeast are facing mounting financial and staffing pressures that experts warn could leave more small towns without nearby medical care. The National Rural Health Association reports 43% of rural hospitals in Florida are vulnerable to closure. In Georgia, more than a third of rural hospitals are in danger, according to experts who say some communities are already feeling the impact of health care economics that work against small towns…In Georgia, nine rural hospitals have closed since 2010, according to Georgians for a Healthy Future. Florida Voices for Care estimates as many as eight closures in that same time frame, leaving communities without nearby care.

Mar 27, 2026

Mar 10, 2026

Laura Colbert led the passage of Georgia legislation protecting consumers from out-of-network medical bills. She has been named a Health Equity Leader of the Year in Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Health Care Champion Awards, alongside two other health care leaders.

Mar 2, 2026

In northeast Georgia, a hospital closed its maternity ward. In rural New Hampshire, a community health center shuttered. And in Iowa, a Des Moines hospital system laid off dozens of employees and closed a clinic. All these providers cited President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda package, which slashed more than $1 trillion in federal support for health care, as a factor in their decisions.

The legislation, known as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” is expected to leave millions more Americans without coverage and to cut vital financial support for hospitals – a combination that could force already cash-strapped providers to pull back on services and staffing, leaving patients with fewer places and longer waits for care, particularly in emergency rooms…Maternal care is already strained in Georgia, said Whitney Griggs, director of health policy at Georgians for a Healthy Future, an advocacy group. The state has maternal and infant mortality rates that are much higher than the national average, and only 36% of counties had a labor and delivery unit in 2022.

Feb 6, 2026

Georgians will soon have access to a new centralized dashboard tracking issues with insurance coverage for mental health care claims under the state’s mental health parity law, and the law’s implementation. The new site, to be monitored by the nonprofit Georgians for a Healthy Future, is set to launch as top state officials urge more progress on enforcing Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act.

The 2022 law, also known as H.B. 1013, requires Georgia health insurers to cover mental health and substance-use conditions on par with coverage for physical health conditions.

So far, compliance has been spotty, according to state numbers. A recent audit by the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner flagged 22 insurers for violating the law. The review identified more than 6,000 parity violations, including claims being reprocessed unnecessarily, inconsistent application of benefits and unnecessary prior authorizations, among other issues.

Feb 5, 2026

Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act, passed unanimously by the Legislature in 2022, requires public and private insurers to cover mental health and substance use disorder in the same way as with physical health care.

But it’s not just a mental health issue, advocates with Georgia Council for Recovery said Tuesday at the Central Presbyterian Church near the Gold Dome for the third Mental Health Parity Day hosted by The Carter Center.

Advocates say enforcing parity law is about reducing emergency response costs, saving taxpayer dollars, and building healthier communities across Georgia. Mental illness is often expressed as behavioral health concerns such as substance use disorder. Outside the city’s Capitol steps, people live in tents and in need of food…

The Carter Center’s Tuesday program announced Georgians for a Healthy Future’s new public tool to track parity violations.

The dashboard will provide transparent, real-time monitoring of compliance using a straightforward stoplight indicator system to show where implementation is on track, where progress is mixed, and where critical gaps remain.

Consumers who believe they are victims of a mental health parity violation may file a complaint online or call 1-800-656-2298.

Jan 23, 2026

Department heads across state agencies began outlining their spending priorities this week in joint budgetary hearings hosted by the Georgia Senate and General Assembly.

During the hearings, department heads broke down Gov. Brian Kemp’s latest budget report, which amends some spending for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1 and sets recommendations for fiscal year 2027.

Funding for the state’s four main departments of health made up nearly 40% of expenditures last year. That doesn’t change much in the governor’s new budget despite some mounting challenges.  …

At an annual event hosted by the nonprofit health advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future, state Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II said the biggest challenge facing the state’s health care system is the expiration of Affordable Care Act-enhanced premium tax credits.

One estimate from the Georgia Health Initiative projects an additional 460,000 people in the state could become uninsured by 2034 because of the loss of enhanced premium tax credit and other provisions of House Resolution 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Jones and other senate Democrats filed a bill last week to create a series of state-funded subsidies and cost-sharing reductions administered under the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner to help people afford plans through Georgia Access.

Jan 22, 2026

Jan 13, 2026

ATLANTA (WJBF) — Lawmakers at the Georgia State Capitol are facing renewed calls this legislative session to expand healthcare access and lower costs for residents across the state, particularly in rural communities.

Healthcare advocates say improving access is critical to preventing rural hospital closures, addressing staffing shortages, and reducing the number of uninsured Georgians.

Nonprofit groups like Georgians for a Healthy Future argue that rural areas continue to struggle with limited access to care, including hospitals shutting down key services such as labor and delivery units.

“Georgia has a huge issue with access to care in rural parts of the state,” said Whittney Griggs, director of health policy for Georgians for a Healthy Future. “Hospitals are closing service lines and struggling just to keep their doors open.”

Without those subsidies, thousands are now paying higher premiums, and some are choosing to go without coverage altogether.

Jan 9, 2026

Open enrollment for 2026 Affordable Care Act health coverage ends next week, and Georgia residents are bracing for increased premiums and limited affordable coverage options compared to last year.

Advocates predict that premiums in Georgia could jump as high as 75% on average, and that Black Georgians, who face higher uninsured rates than white residents, will be disproportionately impacted by these changes.

“We do know that Black Georgians are over-represented among marketplace enrollments, and so as costs go up for those marketplace plans, Black Georgians will be hit first and hardest,” said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future.

These changes in coverage come as a result of Congress choosing to not extend enhanced ACA subsidies, also known as enhanced premium tax credits, at the end of 2025. For those who qualified, the tax credits helped bring down the cost of ACA premiums.