Dear friends,

Affordable quality healthcare for Georgians is a right, not a privilege. For those of us fortunate enough to have medical insurance, our premiums in the last six years have risen more than twice as fast as consumer prices overall (9.2 percent premium increase vs. 3.5 percent prices overall) and more than three times the increase in earnings (2.7 percent).

These dramatic increases have forced many employers in the United States to eliminate medical coverage altogether (69 percent provided in 2000 vs. 60 percent in 2005).

Where do these uninsured workers go when they need medical care? They go to our hospital emergency rooms. Who pays? The taxpayers of Georgia pay through our Medicaid program.

How do we prevent these corporations from padding their profits at the expense of Georgia taxpayers? The Fair Share Healthcare Act will require corporations with over 10,000 employees to set aside 8 percent of their payroll costs to provide basic insurance coverage. If they refuse, the 8 percent will be used to reimburse our Medicaid program.

I will work with our legislature to fund the PeachCare program so that every child in Georgia has basic medical coverage. This is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing as well.

When our kids get preventive care and early intervention for childhood diseases, like asthma and diabetes, they are healthier, perform better in school, and live longer, more productive lives. We need a proactive, common sense, statewide approach to our spiraling healthcare costs.

We must protect our property rights and our environment from unbridled commercial development. Whose interest was at stake in the recent bill to allow septic tanks to be located within the state mandated 150-foot buffer from our drinking water sources?

It certainly wasn’t in the people’s interest – just more payback to those developers who finance politics as usual. This bill was defeated, but rest assured we’ll see more legislation like this, and we’ll need constant vigilance to protect ourselves.

Our state government must answer to the people. Our Sunshine Laws must be kept strong and our government open to public scrutiny. Why did our legislature gut the governor’s ethics bill by removing the $50 limit on gifts from lobbyists? Do our lawmakers really need lobbyist-paid travel and gifts to influence their votes?

It’s time for a change from politics as usual.

My thanks to The Citizen and the voters of Fayette County.

Kevin Madden
Candidate
State House District 72

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