Under the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, 646,000 Georgians would qualify for affordable health care; 4.4 million Americans across the 12 states that have yet to expand would also receive coverage

This morning, Senator Warnock led a bicameral group of lawmakers calling for the inclusion of a comprehensive, stable Medicaid fix in the upcoming reconciliation package–– WATCH HERE

Senator Reverend Warnock on his Medicaid Saves Lives Act: “Too many Georgians are still struggling to get what they deserve and what’s already available if we would just expand Medicaid. And for far too many, access to affordable, quality, reliable, and continuous health care is quite literally the difference between life and death”

***WATCH SENATOR WARNOCK’S MEDICAID SAVES LIVES VIDEO HERE***

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released a new video advocating for the inclusion of a comprehensive, stable Medicaid fix—modeled after his Medicaid Saves Lives Act—in the forthcoming economic package, known as the Build Back Better Act.

The Medicaid Saves Lives Act, which Senator Warnock introduced in July 2021 alongside his colleagues Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), would create a new Medicaid-like federal program allowing Americans in non-expansion states to access affordable, quality health care coverage. Under this legislation, 646,000 Georgians would become eligible for this Medicaid-like program.

Beginning in July, Senator Warnock took to the floor of the United States Senate to uplift the stories of Georgians who would stand to benefit from Medicaid expansion. Most recently, Senator Warnock led a letter calling on Senate leadership to address the Medicaid coverage gap by including his Medicaid fix in the Build Back Better Act—writing and making clear this proposal would be the “most effective policy to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities” in the United States.

Senator Warnock has long been a vocal advocate for accessible, equitable, and affordable health care. This continued upon his arrival to the Senate in January 2021—championing efforts such as Medicaid expansion, maternal health care and more.

Watch Senator Warnock share the health care stories of Georgians: Cynthia English, Amy Bielawski, and the late Lori Davis.

Full transcript of U.S. Senator Reverend Warnock’s video below:

“Madam President, I believe health care is a human right, and with all the incentives on the table for Georgia to expand Medicaid, it is past time to do so.

“Too many Georgians are still struggling to get what they deserve and what’s already available if we would just expand Medicaid. And for far too many, access to affordable, reliable and continuous health care is quite literally the difference between life and death.

“My home state of Georgia has the opportunity to provide affordable health care to 646,000 people who could qualify.

“We’re costing Georgia more and more everyday by not providing accessible to health care to the people who need it most. 

“To put it bluntly, as Cynthia said, when you’re sick in Georgia, they still really don’t help you if you don’t have any health insurance or Medicaid. 

“Madam President, I agree with Martin Luther King Jr., who said that of all the injustices, inequality in health care is the most shocking and the most inhumane. 

“As members of this body, we should be ashamed that in the richest nation in the world, a country with all of our resources, with all of our medical technology, that some citizens would choose not to seek treatment even when they know better because they fear they cannot afford the price tag of lifesaving care. That’s Lori’s story.

“This is the human face of the public policy we make or the public policy we fail to make. As our state’s health care options stand now, Amy says she, quote, doesn’t think they care about people like me falling through the cracks. 

“And that’s why last week I introduced the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, legislation that would create a program almost identical to Medicaid that is administered by the federal government. It would allow people in states like Georgia who have not expanded Medicaid an alternative path to health coverage.

“This is the human face of our public policy. These are the tragic causalities of the games that politicians play.

“Behind the public policy, we have to remember the stories of real people. People like Cynthia. Because there are millions of Cynthias in Georgia and across our nation who need the Medicaid Saves Live Act.

“It’s not just the name of a bill. It’s actually true—Medicaid saves lives.”

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