IndieDems.com

From the AJC September 18, 2025:

Medicaid cuts ahead prompt Lavonia hospital to shutter childbirth unit

Excerpts:

A hospital in rural Georgia is closing its labor and delivery unit, saying its precarious finances could not weather further funding cuts called for in President Trump’s new tax and spending law.

• Like many rural hospitals in Georgia, officials at St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia said they face challenges recruiting physicians to the area and are contending with an aging population and fewer young women having babies.
• “We are feeling very desperate and destitute,” said Kristy Wynn, who works at the Hart Life Pregnancy Care Center in nearby Hartwell, a city of about 4,500 near the South Carolina border.
• “Our fear is there’s going to be highway deliveries. There’s going to be women on the side of the road having babies and no prenatal care.”

Republicans point out their provision in the bill of $50 billion for investment in rural health care, but who gets the money is still to be determined—and it’s expected to offset only about one-third of the cuts to rural health elsewhere in the bill. The new funding is also temporary and not limited to just hospitals.

“Many struggling hospitals already teetering on the edge have seen the federal cuts as a death knell. A clinic in rural Nebraska, scheduled to shutter Sept. 30, was the first health facility to announce it was closing as a result of the law.”

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FOX5 Atlanta reports:

• A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit by Attorney General Chris Carr against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones accusing his political rival of having an unfair advantage in campaign fundraising.
• Under Georgia law, Jones is able to raise and spend unlimited funds only through a special committee available only to the governor, lieutenant governor and a small group of legislative leaders.
• While the judge acknowledged the advantage, she ruled that Carr had sued Jones and his campaign for "doing exactly what Georgia law allows them to do."

The lone Democrat among seven candidates in a special election held August 26 for the Georgia state Senate won the most votes, putting her in a runoff election against a Republican opponent scheduled for September 23. Democrat Debra Shigley garnered about 40 percent of the vote of the vote. Her closet Republican candidates earned about 17 percent each. The election in senate district 21 became necessary after President Trump appointed the incumbent, Alpharetta Republican Brandon Beach, to be U.S. Treasurer.

Democrats are elated over Shigley’s unexpected showing in a deep-red district where Beach received upwards of 70% of the vote against a Democratic challenger in 2024. Shigley is an Alpharetta mom, attorney and small business owner. She said in a statement, "My team and I are more than ready to continue this historic momentum. I am very proud of the campaign we have run so far, and it is clear that our vision — for an affordable, healthy, educated Georgia where working families can thrive — is resonating with our neighbors.”