Georgia State Advocacy
March of Dimes volunteers and staff work to influence both legislative and regulatory activities in each state by serving as powerful voices for the needs of pregnant women, infants, children and families. Our efforts span the full range of our annual Advocacy & Government Affairs priorities, including access to care, research and surveillance, and prevention and education.
In Georgia, March of Dimes achieved 10 legislative wins in 2018, including being instrumental in advocating for $2 million (combination state and federal match funds) to develop a Medicaid reimbursement for providers using group prenatal care models in Georgia; and worked to secure $2 million in state funding to implement a low-cost intervention to reduce instances of maternal mortality in the state.
March of Dimes Georgia also advocated in support of adding MPS-1, Pompe, and X-ALD to the state’s newborn screening panel, officially bringing the state to screen for all 34 conditions on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) advocated for legislation to codify NICU and maternal levels of care; and enhanced or maintained funding for four budget line items ,including increased OB/GYN residencies funding, planning for Healthy Babies Waiver Program, perinatal hepatitis C surveillance, and funds to launch a NICU Peer 2 Peer recovery program.
Below are just a few examples of fact sheets and issue briefs used in successful state advocacy efforts.
- Raising Minimum Tobacco Purchase Age to 21 Fact Sheet
- E-Cigarettes & Pregnancy Fact Sheet
- Access to Care Fact Sheet
- Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) Fact Sheet
- Pregnancy Discrimination Fact Sheet
- Pompe Disease Fact Sheet
- Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Fact Sheet
- Immunization Exemption Fact Sheet
See also: State advocacy (overview), Federal advocacy, Advocacy and Government Affairs Issues and Priorities, Policies & positions, Victories & achievements, March of Dimes Data Book for Policy Makers and Peristats
