Congressman Sanford Bishop, Georgia Democrats tout Vice President Kamala Harris’s ‘New Way Forward’ plan
Bishop highlighted what he claimed was great progress in increasing healthcare coverage to Georgians under the Biden-Harris Administration.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) was in Macon on Monday to tout Vice President Kamala Harris’s healthcare plan, referred to as a “New Way Forward.”
The Harris campaign’s plan promises to maintain and expand the protections of the Affordable Care Act. Bishop went after former President Donald Trump for what he believes are efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, saying that would put Georgians across the state at risk of losing healthcare coverage.
“All Georgians, regardless of where they live, deserve to have affordable, accessible healthcare,” Bishop said. “We should be fighting for lower healthcare costs, not gutting access to hard working Americans across the country.”
While criticizing Trump’s attacks of the Affordable Care Act at last week’s presidential debate, Bishop highlighted what he claimed was great progress in increasing healthcare coverage to Georgians under the Biden-Harris Administration.
“We’ve worked in congress to provide the Department of Health and Human Services with funds so it can award $100 million to address the need for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and nursing facilities,” Bishop said.
Bishop mentioned a moment during the debate when Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In a statement shared with 41NBC, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the following:
“President Trump is not running to terminate the Affordable Care Act. He is running to make healthcare actually affordable, in addition to bringing down inflation, cutting taxes, and reducing regulations to put more money back in the pockets of all Americans who have been robbed by Kamala Harris’ disastrous economic policies.”
Also speaking at the press conference Monday local nurse Kate Ellington. Ellington says that due to the Affordable Care Act, emergency rooms have seen less people come in for treatment of long-term complications such as diabetes and asthma.
“We’ve seen less of that,” Ellington said. “We’ve seen less people coming in and using them as primary care physicians. We have seen more children having access to pediatricians and being able to be treated for acute issues without waiting in a waiting room for nine hours. “
As both campaigns vow to make healthcare affordable for more Americans, Ellington says there is a top priority that must be addressed first.
“The first step to making sure everyone is covered is ACA,” Ellington said. “And making sure that people at the lowest levels, including my parents who run a very small business, have access to healthcare.”
