Sweetwater Mission, auto insurance, gripe bag, rural health care

First, Sweetwater Mission is Atlanta’s largest food pantry, and it focuses on the city’s undocumented workers. Managers at the mission say they recently turned down $35,000 of funding because it came with the stipulation that it should only be used to serve people who are in the country legally. Joining us is the Director of Operations for Sweetwater Mission, Mark Zangari, and Solveig Cunningham professor at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

Then, Georgia led the nation with the highest increase in personal auto insurance rates in 2016, according to a new analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Though Georgia has held a top spot in insurance rate boosts over the years, outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens has said he does not plan to take action. We talk about this with James Salzer, reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Beth Stephens, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for Georgia Watch.

Next, our producers are fed up with cars for different reasons. Senior Producer Emily Cureton and Producer Ryan McFadin take two-wheeled alternatives to work, and they’ve got some beef to share with drivers on the road. It’s time to open up the Gripe Bag.

Then, five rural hospitals closed their doors between 2013 and 2016, and many more face potential financial collapse once federal reimbursements – known as Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments – are phased out by January 2018. This issue has led to an unlikely statewide alliance of hospital officials, state lawmakers, and health care advocates to come together and find a solution before it’s too late. We speak with STAT Southern Correspondent Max Blau, Georgia Chamber CEO and President Chris Clark, and Memorial Health CEO and President Maggie Gill about efforts to find an alternative to Medicaid expansion and the possible consequences if left unresolved.

Finally, one effort to help curb the problem of rural health care is the Two Georgias initiative. That program is a collaboration between health care providers across the state, designed to expand access to quality health care in rural parts of Georgia. We talk with Gary Nelson, President of Healthcare Georgia Foundation, which funds the initiative.

Tags: Auto Insurance  Food Pantry  Rural Health Care  Gripe Bag  OST Full Show  Atlanta  Georgia