Top of the morning! It’s Friday, y’all!
Here is Your AM Rundown, with news updates in 400 words or less. Get caught up on headlines and other developments you might’ve missed.
Here’s what to know for today:
- New mothers in low-income areas may soon receive an expansion on Medicaid for postpartum care benefits. The Georgia House voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 338, which will raise the postpartum care benefits period from six months to one year in an attempt to curb the state’s high maternal mortality rates.
- Georgia’s legislative season is over and Capital B Atlanta state and local politics reporter Chauncey Alcorn recapped the upcoming laws that are most important to Black residents.
- Residents in East Point and other parts of south Fulton County will now have to venture further for emergency medical care. Wellstar Health System announced Wednesday that it’s closing its emergency department and hospital services at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center South in May. The building will be repurposed as a 24-hour urgent care and rehabilitation facility. Inpatient services will move to Wellstar AMC’s Main Campus in Downtown.
- Who is Andraya Yearwood? Why are state lawmakers using her name as a reason to pass bills banning trans student athletes from playing on sports teams tied to their gender identity? Capital B Atlanta health reporter Kenya Hunter sat down with Yearwood to talk about her journey from athlete to activist.
ICYMI: Next week, be sure to check our next live event, The State of Black Maternal Health. The virtual event is set for Thursday, April 14, at 1 p.m. ET, and will feature conversations on some of the most important topics related to maternal and reproductive health disparities. Register here.
Got tips, pitches, or other updates to include in Your AM Rundown? Hit us up at atltips@capitalbatl.org.
