One of the most important things that will be decided in the Governor’s election this year will be whether or not 800,000 uninsured Georgians will get health insurance. Will we remain the state with the fifth highest number of uninsured residents? If Brian Kemp is elected, that will be the outcome. And his reason for not expanding Medicaid will be that it is too expensive for Georgia to do and besides, these indigent people should get a job and then they will have health insurance. He will also say that he is going to increase the annual tax credit for rural hospitals. Let me give you the facts on all those false arguments. If we were to expand Medicaid in Georgia, as 33 other states have done, state lawmakers could insure 443,000 more Georgians. If Georgia expanded Medicaid it would bring in $3 billion a year from the federal government. Additionally that money would lead to the creation of thousands of medically related jobs which would increase our tax base. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute estimates that the total cost per year would be around $136 million, which would be offset by the higher incomes from new jobs.