Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle took his statewide Health Care Reform Task Force to Tifton Monday — one of the areas in the state where 40% or more children live in poverty.
“Statewide, our poverty rate among children hovers at about 25%. In 40 counties – including right here in Tift County – 40% or more of our kids are living in poverty,” said Cagle. “It is up to us to find solutions that allow hardworking Georgians to keep more of what they earn. And as our work with the Health Care Reform Task Force continues, it will be up to us to work with issuers, providers, and stakeholders in every community of our state to innovate and lower the costs of care, premiums, and deductibles so that our families have access to the care we need, at a price we can all afford.”
Cagle was joined by State Sens. Renee Unterman, Dean Burke, Chuck Hufstetler, Ben Watson, Kay Kirkpatrick, Jack Hill and “Doc” Rhett. They were joined by representatives from Tift Regional Medical Center — who hosted the meeting — Emory University, and Dr. Keith J. Mueller, Interim Dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa.
This was the third meeting of the task force. Discussions centered around policies that would elevate Georgia as a leader in advancing patient-centered health care reforms, according to Lt. Gov. Cagle.
“Georgia’s Health Care Reform Task Force has a unique and exciting opportunity to design and implement public policies that facilitate reshaping the delivery system in ways that achieve goals of population health improvement at affordable costs,” said Dr. Keith Mueller. “By adapting and adopting innovative approaches that advance the health of the population while addressing needs to be cost-effective and stabilizing a sustainable delivery system, Georgia can be a leader in health care reform.”
This committee is tasked with working collaboratively with a number of stakeholders across Georgia to find solutions that reduce and control the costs of care, modernize delivery models to better match the needs of patients in communities across the state, and encourage innovation and market competition, according to Cagle.
“Tift Regional Health System was honored to host the Georgia Health Care Reform Task Force meeting,” said William T. Richardson, President and CEO of Tift Regional Health System. “We greatly appreciate this group and their resolve to tackle the current challenges facing healthcare in our state.”
The next meeting of the Health Care Reform Task Force will be held Aug. 28 in Northwest Georgia.
“Georgia’s health care system demands reforms,” said Cagle. “Statewide, costs are too high – and increasing by too much, too quickly – while access and choices for care are too limited. It is time for Georgia to act on behalf of all our patients, families, and communities – across all geographic regions of our state.”
