Peach Pulse Archives – Georgians for a Healthy Future

Peach Pulse | June celebrations 🎉, alert for Friday Health customers, public health, & more!

June 2023

CELEBRATING FATHER’S DAY & JUNETEENTH WITH COVER GEORGIA THIS MONTH!

This Juneteenth, Black Georgians of color deserve better! Despite living in a state that is recognized as a global hub of health care innovation, employment, and investment, Black Georgians continue to experience worse health than white Georgians. The ways that our laws are structured is one cause for this inequality. Black Georgians still lack equal access to affordable health care in our state. Almost 15% of Black Georgians are uninsured, compared to 11.9% of white Georgians who are uninsured. Additionally, Black Georgians are more likely to have medical debt in collections than white Georgians, due in part to higher uninsured rates. Fortunately, our state leaders have an opportunity to reduce this inequity. The most effective action they could take is to expand Medicaid to cover uninsured adults in Georgia. This action would cover an estimated 140,000 Black Georgians and more than 490,000 Georgians total.

A gift for Georgia dads? Medicaid expansion! For more than a decade, 400,000 Georgians have not been able to meaningfully access Georgia’s health care system because our state has not expanded Medicaid to all low-income, uninsured adults. One in four people in this coverage gap are Georgia parents. When dads and other parents don’t have health coverage, their children’s well-being also suffers. The health of Georgia’s children depends on their parent’s ability to care and support them–a task that is much easier for healthy, thriving parents. Parents can only stay healthy if they can visit a doctor when they are sick, get affordable medicines at the pharmacy, and can be screened early for illnesses like cancer.

GHF and Cover Georgia are celebrating Juneteenth and Father’s Day all month long by letting state leaders know how Black Georgians and dads would be better off with Medicaid expansion. Tell your state legislators today that ALL Georgians deserve better access to health care with Medicaid expansion!

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | NEW housing policy recs, thank you!, 2022 Impact report, Medicaid renewals & more!

May 2023

NEW! GHF RELEASES HOUSING RESEARCH
& POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

7 policy recommendations to improve housing (and health) for Georgians with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD)

Last week, Georgians for a Healthy Future and the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities hosted a virtual event to discuss opportunities to improve access to affordable, accessible housing for Georgians with IDD.

During the event, Whitney Griggs presented original research detailing the housing needs and challenges faced by Georgians with IDD and their caregivers. She also outlined seven policy recommendations to address their housing burdens and improve housing for all Georgians. To close the event, Whitney spoke with three disabilty housing leaders who added their perspectives and stories.

You can re-watch the event here and find the report on our website!

GHF will soon begin our second phase of advocacy in support of healthy housing. Stay tuned to learn more and get involved!

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | Calling Georgia public health workers, GHF’s new board & team members, Medicaid unwinding help & more!

April 2023

LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS: WE NEED YOU!

GHF is hosting focus groups to hear from public health workers. Sign up today!

Are you a Georgia public health worker? GHF would like to invite you to take part in Community Conversations! Fill out this interest form to participate. These discussion groups with state, local, and district public health workers will help GHF better understand how to best support and strengthen Georgia’s public health systems and workers. Topics of discussion will focus on Georgia’s public health workforce, local and state public health policies, the public’s trust in public health workers and agencies, and more. Your participation and feedback will remain anonymous.

The information collected from these focus groups will help GHF and partner groups effectively engage the public and state leaders about what public health does and its value important in our lives.

We will host three sessions for public health workers in: 1) Rural local or district PH departments; 2) Non-rural local or district PH departments; and 3) the Georgia Dept. of Public Health. Each discussion group will take place virtually and last approximately 90 minutes.

Participation incentive: $25 gift card per participant.

If you would like to take part in Community Conversations, fill out this interest form. Please reach out to Knetta Adkins, Organizing Manager at kadkins@healthyfuturega.org or 404-400-2715 with any questions.

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | Upcoming celebrations: Nat’l Public Health Week + Medicaid Awareness Month, wrapping up leg. session & more!

March 2023

COVER GEORGIA HOSTS 2023 ADVOCACY DAY

Cover Georgia at the Georgia Capitol to advocate for Medicaid expansion

On Febraury 27, we were thrilled to have so many advocates take the time to be at Cover Georgia advocacy day at the Capitol! We had a wonderful day full of talking with elected officials and urging them to take action to expand Medicaid immediately to protect the health of and improve well-being for all Georgians. Whether you attended in person or emailed and called, you helped ensure Governor Kemp and state legislators heard from Georgians about the need to close Georgia’s coverage gap! Thank you!

Couldn’t make it to the Capitol? There are other ways to support closing Georgia’s coverage gap!

Share the Georgia Can’t Wait videos from Glenwood and Cuthbert, Georgia. Help others learn about the connections between rural prosperity, hospital closures, and Medicaid expansion. (We’re happy to come to your community to share and discuss the videos in person too!)
If you are uninsured or know someone who is, we want to help you share your story! Your voice is a powerful tool to help others understand the need for Georgia to close its coverage gap. Write or record your story at healthyfuturega.org/story.

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | Cover GA advocacy day is Monday, public health, legislative session so far, & more!

February 2023

THIS MONDAY! COVER GEORGIA ADVOCACY DAY AT THE CAPITOL!

February 27th: Join Cover Georgia at the Georgia Capitol to advocate for Medicaid expansion

Join Cover Georgia to ask our lawmakers to expand Medicaid so all Georgians–regardless of their income–have a pathway to health coverage. This Monday, Cover Georgia will host an advocacy day at the Georgia Capitol. The morning will begin with a training for those who want to learn more about the opportunity for Medicaid expansion in Georgia. You will learn effective advocacy skills to help you talk with your legislator and visit the Capitol to put your training into action!

This is your chance to speak up about one of the biggest issues impacting the health of Georgians. Make your voice heard in support of Medicaid expansion in Georgia!

RSVP for 2023 Cover Georgia’s advocacy training!

Can’t make it to the Capitol this Monday? You can still let your lawmakers know that you care about this issue and you want them to take action. Take a few minutes to contact your state legislators now! Ask the House Health Committee to hear HB 62! Then ask the Senate Appropriations, Health subcommittee for a hearing on SB 24! Both bills would expand Medicaid in Georgia. Hearings give supporters and opponents a chance to publicly make their cases for or against an issue. Ask state leaders to allow a public and fair discussion of this important issue today!

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | New from Glenwood & Cuthbert, stay in charge of your Medicaid, HCU TY, & more!

January 2023

NEW! STORIES FROM GEORGIA’S RURAL HOSPITAL CLOSURES

Since 2010, 9 rural hospitals have closed in Georgia. That puts Georgia third in the nation for hospital closures behind Tennessee and Texas. Rural hospitals in states that have not expanded Medicaid to low-income adults are more likely to close, shutting off access to care for their communities.

When a hospital closes in a rural community, the effects ripple through every part of community life. The hospital’s doctors and nurses move away. Residents are left without access to emergency care and other important health services. Businesses around the hospital may close—a local pharmacy, the downtown diner, or the florist.

This year GHF documented stories from community members following two local hospital closures in Glenwood and Cuthbert, Georgia. We are humbled to share both stories with you today in two videos.

Watch the Glenwood and Cuthbert stories on our Georgia Can’t Wait page. Learn more about how communities struggle when hospitals are allowed to fail, in part because of our leaders’ refusal to expand Medicaid to their uninsured constituents.

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | HCU 2023, get covered, new illustrated resource, fall giving with GHF, & more!

December 2022

ONLY A FEW WEEKS LEFT!

Get your tickets for HCU 2023!

On January 10th, GHF will kick off the Georgia legislature’s health care conversations at Health Care Unscrambled 2023. Legislators, advocates, and national thought leaders will discuss legislative solutions to our state’s most pressing health issues, the health landscapes in rural and urban Georgia, and how we can work together to build a healthier future for our state.

We hope you will join GHF, our outstanding keynote speakers, and a bipartisan legislative panel for Health Care Unscrambled on Tuesday, January 10th at 7:30 am. We look forward to the in-person networking and collaboration that Health Care Unscrambled always sparks!

RSVP today to take part in this great conversation on January 10th!

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | Thank you!, HCU 2023, get covered by Dec. 15, & more!

November 2022

JOIN GHF FOR HEALTHCARE UNSCRAMBLED 2023!

Thank you for your support on Giving Tuesday!

GHF asked for your support on Giving Tuesday and we couldn’t be more grateful for your generosity towards GHF! Gifts to Georgians for a Healthy Future ensure that our organization can be a strong, responsive voice for Georgia health care consumers now and in the future. Your support activates a network of health advocates across the state in support of policies that protect and promote the health and well-being of every Georgian.

Thank you!

Didn’t get a chance to donate on Tuesday? You still can! Together we can build a healthy, equitable Georgia!

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | HCU 2023, get covered, new illustrated resource, fall giving with GHF, & more!

October 2022

JOIN GHF FOR HEALTHCARE UNSCRAMBLED 2023!

Health Care Unscrambled is back in person on January 10th!

Please join Georgians for a Healthy Future for our 13th annual Health Care Unscrambled!

Health Care Unscrambled is a special, annual opportunity for health advocates and stakeholders to hear from state policymakers about what they plan to tackle in the year ahead, and to better understand the health experiences of Georgia consumers. After two years of virtual programs, we look forward to the in-person networking and collaboration that Health Care Unscrambled always sparks!

Please plan to attend on Tuesday, January 10th for Health Care Unscrambled 2023! RSVP today! We look forward to seeing you there.

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

(more…)

MORE >

Peach Pulse | Suicide Prevention, new public health training, housing survey, & more!

SEPTEMBER 2022

EVENTS AT GHF: TODAY & THANK YOU!

Recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month with GHF on Facebook TODAY!

Georgians for a Healthy Future will discuss suicide awareness and prevention on FaceBook TODAY, September 28th, at 1pm! Deanna Williams and Knetta Adkins will be joined by Miriam Goodfriend, Advocacy Coordinator at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Georgia, to discuss mental health resources and information.

Their engaging conversation will cover taboos related to suicidality and how Georgians can increase access to mental health resources in their communities.They will also discuss a special open enrollment period to help more Georgians get health insurance, which covers mental health as an essential health service.

Tune in today, September 28th, at 1pm to GHF’s Facebook page!

Thank you for coming to GHF’s Family & Friends Reunion!

Almost two weeks ago, the GHF team, our colleagues, partners, and supporters came together to reconnect at GHF’s Family & Friends Reunion. Against a city sunset, we shared advocacy ideas, kicked off GHF’s new strategic plan, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and participate in this fun evening! We would also like to thank our generous sponsors for supporting this summer celebration. Our year-round advocacy is stronger because of your partnerships and gifts. Thank you!

(more…)

MORE >