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EDITOR'S NOTE: Democratic Democrat Governor Stacey Abrams requested an interview with The Valdosta Daily Times on Wednesday afternoon before her campaign stop at Valdosta State University. She spent about 45 minutes at the Times office answering questions about her schedule and her life. The Times will make a similar space and time available to the Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, at his request.
VALDOSTA – Stacey Abrams is on the verge of history.
If the Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia is elected, she will become the first female black governor in the United States. The importance of this possibility does not escape it.
"I'm lucky and happy to be able to help write the story," said Abrams, "not just for myself, because when you wrote the story, you created a space that others can follow. . "
The former head of the Statehouse minority, aged 44, said she wanted her nieces to consider themselves as someone who could run for higher office positions, such as governor. or even president of the United States. Abrams grew up without this model and sees in his candidacy an opportunity to create new possibilities.
"I see this as an opportunity to open doors and change the face of leadership, we are adding more to the pantheon, and I think it's important," Abrams said.
Healthcare and Medicaid Expansion
Abrams said she acknowledged that the next governor was to solve the health care crisis in the state. She said that the expansion of Medicaid is the only way.
As a tax consultant, she explained that she developed a specialty in health care financing.
Half of the population of Lowndes County who is not old would be eligible for coverage of the Medicaid extension, she said. The expansion would create more than 3,000 jobs here.
This would save money in Lowndes County and in the counties of the state.
"Currently, this region spends about $ 100 million in uncompensated care," said Abrams. "People who come to the doctor without being able to afford it, the rest of the community pays the price, and in the states that have expanded to Medicaid, that number has been cut in half. 39 is not just about physical health, economic health. "
Georgia has long supported a partnership with the federal government to fund health care. Medicaid currently supports elderly, blind, disabled, pregnant women and all people earning less than $ 7,500 with a dependent child.
The state has too many underinsured or uninsured people, she said. It costs the state $ 1.7 billion a year because the poor Georgians get sick and still go to the doctor.
Abrams wants voters to know that they have already contributed to the system.
"Georgians have already invested in the expansion of Medicaid. We are simply refusing to bring our money back up to $ 8 million a day. It's a good deal to which we belong. But, because of ideology, we refuse to accept the dollars, "said Abrams.
"The bottom line is this: there is only one way, given the size of Georgia, to improve, so that we become healthier again. The expansion of Medicaid is the only capital injection. "
His opponent, Brian Kemp, Republican nominee and state secretary, said he would support a system called the renunciation of innovation, she said.
"Derogations for innovation, according to the Trump administration, mean that pre-existing conditions must no longer be covered. It basically lets the governors allow short-term bad quality plans in their states, which will only cover certain things, "said Abrams. His only plan is to trust the insurance companies. I hope they will come, that they will do you a favor and hope you can afford it.
"My plan is the only one to have money and evidence.This is a bipartisan solution that Vice President Mike Pence had supported when he was Governor of Indiana.C & # 39; Is the only way to improve health care. "
She said her plan would cover poor Georgians by halving the amount taxpayers spend on those who go to the hospital without insurance.
The expansion would also create more competition, she said.
In the 11 states similar to Georgia that extended Medicaid, Abrams said insurance costs had dropped from 7 to 10 percent for each person.
"It's a good deal for Georgia. it's a good deal for Georgian taxpayers; and it's a good deal for Georgia patients, "she said. People understand that you get sick, whether you can afford it or not. They understand that they are paying the bill for someone else. They also understand that it's their money. We have put that money into the system. I'm just saying that Georgia should bring its money home. "
Abrams criticizes Kemp's proposed health plan claiming that he does not speak to the poorest Georgians who can not afford to pay for coverage.
Kemp, she said, assumes that competition means people can afford the product.
"The notion of Medicaid's expansion is that these people are not making enough money to pay for health care themselves. They can not afford insurance. So no competition can make money on the fly and that's the challenge, "said Abrams," He does not talk to the people I'm talking to.
"This half-million Georgians who do not have health insurance will not, magically, have the money to have health insurance as part of their plan." Competition is not their problem, their problem is their income and it does not solve for an income problem. "
Georgia Grown
One of six children, Abrams was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised in Gulfport, Missouri. She likes to say that she is from Mississippi, but that Georgia has grown.
She moved into the state when she was in high school because her parents were going to university. They raised her and her brothers and sisters with strong beliefs and values.
"Going to school, going to church, caring for one another – these are the values that have framed how I approached my life," said Abrams.
She went to Spelman College to earn her bachelor's degree, Texas for her graduate degree and to Yale for her law school. After school, she returned to Georgia to begin her practice as a tax advisor.
"But it was also a place where I could start being involved in the community again, and I spent the next 20 years doing it," Abrams said.
She left her private law firm to become an assistant attorney and then ran for office. During her 11 years in the General Assembly, she stated that she had worked hard to know and understand the entire state.
"On my own, of my own free will, I started traveling in the state, I wanted to know all of Georgia," she said.
"As a legislator, I have worked hard to respect and reflect everyone's values," Abrams said. "It meant working on military issues, protecting kinship, transportation, and farming, working on the other side, with Republicans on problems. The mission I have is to Doing the best for Georgia, sometimes it takes away from ideology and working on what is best – that was my practice and my approach. "
Personal, financial problems
Some of the biggest criticisms made against Abrams relate to his personal finances.
According to the financial information, Abrams owes $ 50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for the deferral of its taxes. She is currently on a payment plan.
She has been criticized for having over $ 170,000 in credit card debt and student loans.
Abrams said she was fulfilling her obligations and was financially responsible for two 69-year-olds, one 92-year-old and the other 92-year-old.
His mother and father were Methodist ministers in Mississippi in 2005, when their church was hit by Hurricane Katrina, Abrams said. The church was devastated and his parents lost most of their income.
"The church could not afford to pay for them, so I stepped in as the main support," said Abrams.
Even after losing their main source of income, her parents remained attached to their poor community. Abrams has ensured that her parents do not lose their health insurance, at a time before the protection of pre-existing conditions, she said.
"My father had fallen and broke his back when he was a worker in a shipyard and his mother had six children, so she had the condition to be a mother," Abrams said.
A year later, his younger brother had a child who was cared for by his parents. Then, seven years ago, his grandmother broke him back and became part of the household, too.
"They've been my responsibility for 15 years," said Abrams. "I was financially responsible for my family and my own obligations.I reported my income to the IRS and I was qualified for a payment plan." made these payments without exception.You can postpone taxes.You can not delay taking care of your family. "
Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for the Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256
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