Contact: Anna Britt, anna@waxmanstrategies.com

During First Breast Cancer Awareness Month Since Historic Medicaid Cuts, Georgia First Urges Policymakers to Protect Georgians’ Access to Early Detection

Flowery Branch, Ga., October 1, 2025 — This October marks the first Breast Cancer Awareness Month since historic cuts to the Medicaid program were signed into law. These cuts could be compounded by the possible year-end expiration of enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs), which currently make health insurance affordable for 1.4 million Georgians and help control healthcare costs for everyone in our state. If Congress allows EPTCs to expire on top of the devastating Medicaid cuts coming down the pipeline, a projected half million Georgians and 10 million Americans total will lose their healthcare coverage.

Data shows us that women who are uninsured are significantly less likely than insured women to get screening mammograms, which are essential to the early detection of breast cancer. So it is clear that these coverage losses will block Georgians’ access to necessary detection and treatment for breast cancer — a disease that already claims over 42,000 lives in the U.S. each year.

“Breast cancer has left a permanent, devastating mark on the lives of far too many Georgian women and families,” said Natalie Crawford, Georgia First Founder and Executive Director and Chair of the BRIDGE Georgia healthcare coalition. “Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. The tragic fact is, without access to healthcare coverage, more women’s cancer diagnosis will be their death sentence. Our state lawmakers must expand Medicaid and the U.S. Congress must extend EPTCs immediately to ensure women have the coverage they need to survive and thrive.”

As our nation and state face historic cuts to our healthcare coverage programs, Georgia’s state policymakers have the opportunity to minimize these coverage losses and help more women access screenings, catch cancer earlier, and get the care they need. Our leaders in Georgia should take action to join the 40 other states that have fully expanded Medicaid. We know that Medicaid expansion — which would unlock a new healthcare coverage option for hundreds of thousands of Georgians — has resulted in earlier and more comprehensive treatment of breast cancer in states similar to Georgia.

To ensure that as many Georgians as possible can access healthcare coverage, our federal policymakers in Congress must act to extend the enhanced premium tax credits before they expire at the end of the year. Extending these tax credits will ensure 1.4 million Georgians can continue to afford the coverage, screenings, and treatment we know is critical for diseases like breast cancer. But beyond this critical direct benefit for so many, these tax credits actually benefit all Georgians by helping keep healthcare costs down for everyone.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is not only an opportunity to raise awareness about the disease and encourage preventive care — it’s also an opportunity to take action that will reduce the risks and harms of this disease. We owe that to the memories of those who have lost their lives to breast cancer.

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About Georgia First

Georgia First is a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and growing the strength and welfare of our state, her people, and our collective future. We are committed to advancing the lives of Georgians by advocating for strong fiscal policies that create a robust middle class, expanding healthcare access and affordability, and standing as a voice above the fray on democracy and elections. More information is at https://georgia1st.org/.