Senator Reverend Warnock visited Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton, Georgia
The hospital is forced to cut $3.3 million annually to break even because of the GOP tax bill, which will kick 750,000 Georgians off their health care
In 2022, Senator Warnock secured $1 million for Evans Memorial to secure a new roof after leaks threatened medical equipment, patient safety
Senator Warnock tours Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton, Georgia
Additional photos available HERE
Claxton, GA – Today, Senator Reverend Warnock visited Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton, Georgia to discuss the risks to rural health care access following steep cuts to Medicaid in the recently passed GOP tax law. Evans Memorial Hospital, a lifeline for rural Georgians, is forced to cut $3.3 million annually to break even due to the GOP tax bill, which will kick 750,000 Georgians off their health care. When rural hospitals have to provide care to people without insurance who cannot afford their medical bills, it makes it more likely that hospitals will be forced to cut services or close their doors. The GOP tax bill’s health care cuts could mean Evans Memorial will have to scale back intensive care unit (ICU) or cardio-pulmonary rehab services. Recently, Evans Memorial Hospital had to shutter its labor and delivery unit because it was no longer financially viable.
“This is a matter of life and death, and in spite of the heroic work that people in this building are doing every single day, it increases the likelihood that this hospital, or hospitals like it, will close, or they don’t close, and they will have to cut critical services,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “And the question you have to ask yourself is, why are they doing this? Who does this pain serve? And the answer is [that] it’s all being done to give billionaires a tax cut. So we’re cutting services, endangering rural health care, increasing the likelihood that more rural hospitals will close, and if they don’t close, they will have to cut services while adding $4 trillion to the debt. That is the definition of bad public policy, and it is what happens when you center the politics rather than the people.”
The inappropriately named One Big Beautiful Bill puts pressure on hospitals to close, putting more than 16,000 rural healthcare jobs at risk, according to the GA Hospital Association. The GOP Tax bill will kick up to 93,000 Georgians off Medicaid and raise premiums on 1.2 million Georgians who get their health insurance on the marketplace, or Georgia Access. About 52% of kids in rural areas in Georgia are covered by Medicaid according to Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF).
Senator Warnock’s Efforts to Protect Rural Hospitals:
- The Senator has spent over 15 years pushing Georgia to expand Medicaid, from his activism as a pastor to advocating for legislation to close the health care coverage gap as a United States Senator.
- The Senator is working to pass the Health Care Affordability Act, which would prevent a spike in health care premiums for the Georgians who get care through Georgia Access.
- Senator Warnock secured $1 million in federal funding to fix Evans Memorial Hospital’s leaky roof and prevent damage to life-saving equipment and protect the health and safety of patients from mold.
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