GEORGIA RURAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 2010

GRHA’s mission is to promote and improve rural health

As with former policy positions and legislative initiatives adopted by GRHA during its 29 year history, the 2010 Legislative Agenda of the Georgia Rural Health Association includes priorities and objectives designed to improve Georgia’s health. Rural Georgians experience higher rates of chronic disease than their urban counterparts and have the least resources available to manage their disease. GRHA’s 2010 Legislative Agenda typifies our message that investing in rural health is an investment in Georgia’s rural people and our state’s rural economic development efforts.

For 2010, GRHA adopts the following as primary concerns to the strength of rural healthcare in our state and we encourage our legislators to support initiatives that address these issues:

• Ensure that the Department of Community Health, the newly transitioned Division of Public Health, and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities services are adequately funded, and those services are sufficiently available to rural Georgians   

• Continue and adequately fund PeachCare for Kids and Medicaid
• Support programs specifically designed to increase our baseline supply of primary care practitioners, and to address the geographic mal-distribution of providers

• Continue support of Georgia’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan

• Modify Georgia law to allow International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to apply for licensure upon completion of two years of residency training, permitting them to be fully licensed in their final year of residency.

• Maintain funding for the Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention Program (SHAPP)

• Support the Georgia Rural Health Safety Net Program through the Georgia Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health, specifically for the development and sustainability of Georgia's rural health care delivery system targeting Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), rural and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), rural health networks and other essential components of the health care delivery system

• Improve road safety by requiring seatbelt use for drivers and passengers in all vehicles, barring all forms of electronic messaging by drivers, and requiring “hands free” cell phone calls for drivers

For more information about GRHA’s legislative agenda items, visit our web site at grhainfo.org. Our web site also has information on rural health issues, events, and GRHA membership. We post updates pertaining to state and national legislation throughout the year.

GRHA
P.O. Box 593
Sandersville, GA 31082         
478.552.3620
Web site: grhainfo.org
Email: grha@grhinfo.org