2014 Georgia Governor's race: on Health Care


Jason Carter: Claimed water kills Ebola; "I was misinformed"

The three candidates sparred over whether Georgia is properly prepared for a possible Ebola case, as Deal's rivals criticized him for telling a newspaper last week that "water kills the Ebola virus." Both were eager to remind a television audience of those remarks on Sunday.

Hunt said Deal lacks the firsthand knowledge to lead Georgia's response. And Carter said his experience working in the Peace Corps in South Africa during disease outbreaks would serve him well.

Deal, for his part, said he was "misinformed" by his public health commissioner. Minutes before the debate, he appointed a task force to formulate the state's response to the deadly virus.

Source: Journal-Constitution on 2014 Georgia Gubernatorial debate Oct 19, 2014

Andrew Hunt: Georgia can do better than ObamaCare

The state of Georgia can do better than the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obama Care). The AHA is a special interest bill that helps insurance companies make more money by requiring people to get insurance plans from a select few companies. Instead, what the people need are options that support a free enterprise system.

In addition to insurance plans, we should have Co-op options like Colorado, or even Direct Health Care programs between patients and their doctors. I would also work to change rules and regulations to decrease insurance cost for providers so that that the total cost to provide health care can be reduced by 10-20% in many cases.

One of the main culprits of high healthcare costs is malpractice insurance. In Minnesota, malpractice insurance costs half of what doctors pay in Georgia. By providing more options than just insurance by large healthcare companies and reducing insurance costs for providers, the patient (customer) and doctor will both come out ahead.

Source: 2014 Georgia gubernatorial campaign website, AndrewHunt.us Aug 31, 2014

Jason Carter: Expanding Medicaid brings tax dollars back to Georgia

Q: What are your thoughts about House Bill 990, which would require legislative approval for any expansion of Medicaid in Georgia?

A: I think it's essentially a political bill.

Q: You're in favor of Medicaid expansion?

A: What I believe is that we have to look at this problem critically. I think expansion should be on the table, and make sure those folks (eligible for coverage) can get either private insurance on the exchanges or get a Medicaid-like expansion--it all has to be on the table. I think we will do one of those things if I'm elected governor.

Q: Are you going to make expansion and health reform issues in your campaign?

A: I think that it makes economic sense for our state to ensure that we draw down our tax dollars and bring them back to Georgia to improve the health options that our citizens have.

Source: Athens Banner-Herald on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race Mar 22, 2014

Nathan Deal: Guaranteed ER room treatment means excessive ER visits

Gov. Nathan Deal has often called on Congress to reconsider the Affordable Care Act. But on Monday evening, he pushed his former Washington colleagues to revisit a separate health care law that fewer politicians openly critique. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is a 1986 law that requires hospitals to provide emergency health care treatment to anyone who needs it, regardless of citizenship or their ability to pay. It's provided life-saving care to countless people, but it's also strained hospital resources and turned emergency rooms into the first stop, instead of a last resort, for some.

"If they really want to get serious about lowering the cost of health care in this country, they would revisit another federal statute," Deal told the crowd. "It came as a result of bad facts, and bad facts make bad law. I think we should be able to figure out ways to deal with those situations but not have the excessive costs associated with unnecessary visits to the emergency room."

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution: 2014 Georgia governor's race Feb 25, 2014

Nathan Deal: Refuses to expand Medicaid rolls under ObamaCare

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986, which requires hospitals to provide emergency health care treatment to anyone who needs it, regardless of citizenship or their ability to pay, is an important topic for Deal, given that many hospitals in rural Georgia are caught in the financial pinch caused by the governor's refusal to expand Medicaid rolls, and the Affordable Care Act's reduction of federal cash for indigent care.
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution: 2014 Georgia governor's race Feb 25, 2014

  • The above quotations are from 2014 Georgia Gubernatorial debates and race coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Jason Carter on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Nathan Deal on Health Care.
Candidates and political leaders on Health Care:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 06, 2018