Bottoms pledges Medicaid expansion; candidates react to latest poll
Keisha Lance Bottoms talks Medicaid; new poll results
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms pledged to expand Medicaid in Georgia during a weekend campaign stop in Cobb County as the race for governor enters its final stretch. Bottoms and Jackson also reacted to the most recent poll results.
ATLANTA - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms pledged to expand Medicaid in Georgia during a weekend campaign stop in Cobb County as the race for governor enters its final stretch.
Bottoms talks Medicaid expansion
What they're saying:
Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, said Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program leaves too many residents without health insurance. Pathways provides Medicaid coverage to certain low-income adults who satisfy work or other qualifying activity requirements. Georgia has not adopted full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
"We have not taken advantage of any openings that we have to expand Medicaid in the state," Bottoms said. "So whatever the rules are, we’ll work within those rules."
Bottoms said her administration would begin with the goal of fully expanding the program and then determine how to proceed under applicable federal requirements. Medicaid is funded jointly by states and the federal government and administered by states under federal rules.
The Cobb County appearance was the first of two campaign stops Bottoms made in metro Atlanta on Saturday.
Poll shows close race
By the numbers:
Bottoms’ remarks came as a Rasmussen poll cited in the television report showed Republican Rick Jackson leading her by 3 percentage points. The poll placed Jackson at 48%, Bottoms at 45% and undecided voters at 7%. The transcript did not provide the survey dates, sample size or margin of error.
Bottoms pointed to Jackson’s campaign spending while arguing that the poll reflected strength in her campaign.
"He may have the money, but we have the power," Bottoms said. She encouraged supporters to promote her candidacy through social media, telephone calls and conversations with their neighbors.
Jackson’s campaign also responded to the poll, saying in a Facebook post that its priorities include safer streets, lower costs and a government that works for Georgians.
"This isn’t a campaign for the insiders," the statement said. "It’s a movement for the people. And we’re just getting started."
RELATED STORY: New poll shows Jackson holds slight lead over Bottoms in governor's race
Bottoms and Jackson have agreed to appear together at a town hall scheduled for October.