Georgia Today: Executive order on prescription drugs; Hurricane season; New mother mental health

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here, we bring you the latest reports from the GPB news team. On today's episode, a look at what the president's executive order on prescription drugs might mean for local retailers. This year might be a big one for hurricanes. And specialists across the state are paying special attention to the mental health concerns of new mothers.

Vanessa: All of a sudden, I'm just sad, and this is something I wanted. This is something I prayed for. Is for me to have my baby, and I just can't process it all.

Peter Biello: Today is Thursday, May 22nd. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: An executive order from the White House promises to make prescription drugs in the U.S. more affordable and take "aggressive measures against manufacturers who don't comply with prices set by the federal government." It is not clear what that means for local retailers, as GPB's Sofi Gratas reports.

Sofi Gratas: U.S. Consumers typically pay far more for prescription drugs than consumers overseas. The federal government blames drug companies, who they say subsidize low prices by charging Americans more. With promises of immediate action to make drugs cheaper, who will make that lower price a reality?

Kia Williams: That is the big question.

Sofi Gratas: Kia Williams co-founded Serum and Good Pill, which redirect drug surpluses into Georgia pharmacies. She says drug pricing is not transparent.

Kia Williams: A lot of companies have a say before someone is charged at that pharmacy counter.

Sofi Gratas: And as the executive order stands—

Kia Williams: It is hard to tell exactly how right now this may trickle down to out-of-pocket costs.

Sofi Gratas: Especially as many consumers pay different prices for the same drug. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Caption

Hurricanes

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says we could have an unusually active hurricane season this year. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

Chase McGee: NOAA says the 2025 hurricane season, which begins June 1st, has a 60% chance of being above normal with a range of 13 to 19 named storms. Of those, as many as 10 could become hurricanes and up to five could reach category three or higher. Ken Graham is the director of NOAA's National Weather Service. He says conditions are lining up for severe hurricanes.

Ken Graham: Warm sea surface temperatures. Probably the number one contributor. Not much wind shear. Wind shear tears the storms apart. We don't expect a lot of wind shear. And the African monsoons is a conducive spot to launch out the waves, launch out storms.

Chase McGee: But he noted it takes only one severe storm to cause devastation, like last year's Hurricane Helene, which brought flooding hundreds of miles inland. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Two leaders at the Public Health Department in Atlanta's Fulton County have been placed on unpaid administrative leave after 17 workers were laid off, apparently without the approval of the Georgia Department of Public Health. The state agency said yesterday that it's reviewing the actions of the district's health director and human resources director. Those laid off included workers focused on HIV and sexual health services. A Georgia Department Of Public Health spokesperson said there is no disruption in related services at the Fulton County Health Department. But one laid-off worker told GPB partner HealthBeat that the layoffs would have "major implications for the community's health." HIV testing services are vital in metro Atlanta, which has one of the nation's highest rates of new HIV diagnoses.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Officials in Valdosta have opened an 80-unit apartment complex to address the area's need for affordable housing. The public and private partners behind Harvest Station Apartments say the units would not have been built without millions of dollars in state and federal grants and tax credits. But developer IDP Properties president Rhett Holmes says there's more to building affordable housing than just federal and state dollars.

Rhett Holmes: There's no silver bullet to the fix.

Peter Biello: He says, local governments also need to be at the table. Take those tax credits, for example. He says to some local assessors, they look a lot like income.

Rhett Holmes: They're basically trying to value the tax credits as income, which they're not.

Peter Biello: Harvest Station was able to work with local officials to lower its tax burden. Holmes also cites excess regulation and rising costs as hindrances. We have more about affordable housing in South Georgia at gpb.org/news.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Women without access to health care, including mental health care are more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues. Now specialists across the state are paying special attention to the mental health of moms in their first few years after pregnancy. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more about perinatal mental health.

Ellen Eldridge: Vanessa was 32 and pregnant with her first child when a massive stroke left her mother paralyzed and in need of care. Vanessa asked to use her first name only.

Vanessa: Your mother is like your best friend type of thing, and this is something that I've wanted to, you know, go through with her, and I couldn't.

Ellen Eldridge: Then the baby came.

Vanessa: All of a sudden I'm just sad, and this something I wanted, this is something I prayed for, is for me to have my baby, and I have the baby. The baby is healthy, and I just can't process it all.

Ellen Eldridge: Doctors call any time during pregnancy and up to two years after giving birth as the perinatal period. Perinatal depression and anxiety are not uncommon. During those years in Vanessa's life, her mother died and her second son was born prematurely. He weighed only 3 pounds and spent two months in the neonatal intensive care unit, where Vanessa couldn't even hold him. She also had trouble connecting emotionally with her two-year-old. She felt like she just had to go go go all the time.

Vanessa: I would be gone all day and come at night and he's like 'mommy where are you?' You know he's missing me.

Ellen Eldridge: To fully be there for her son, she needed professional support. Bridget Cross is a Savannah-based perinatal mental health specialist. She says the statistic often cited is that 1 in 5 pregnant or postpartum women will experience a mental health issue.

Bridget Cross: Most of us who work in that field understand that that's a huge underestimation because that's only people who are actually going to get treatment.

Ellen Eldridge: According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, underlying mental health conditions were the leading cause of maternal deaths in 2022. And that can be from suicide or accidental overdose. Some experts even tie heart-related deaths to perinatal mental health too. CROSS started the Georgia Fund for Perinatal Mental Health in 2022 to help more people access and afford expert treatment.

Bridget Cross: So one piece of it is the insurance. Another piece of is we are really under-resourced as a state in how many trained, certified, experienced perinatal mental health providers we have. I believe we have still fewer than 100 with the certification that I have.

Ellen Eldridge: Specialists like Cross typically have a master's degree. The extra certification can tack on two more years of education. Dr. Aviva McPherson is a perinatal psychologist who joined a maternal mental health program in Atlanta in 2023.

Dr. Aviva McPherson: When I came to Northside, I introduced Infant Mental Health, which was an opportunity to support not just mom, but mom and baby.

Ellen Eldridge: Vanessa, who struggled to care for her newborn and her toddler after her mother's death, was her first patient.

Vanessa: I love therapy. I highly recommend. Dr. McPherson is amazing—

Dr. Aviva McPherson: I tried to terminate with her. She wouldn't let me.

Vanessa: No, absolutely not. She's like, yeah. It's time to graduate and I'm like no, I need you for life.

Ellen Eldridge: McPherson asks Vanessa how she's doing reminding her to care for her mental health.

Vanessa: And that would be something simple like having a cup of tea at night before going to bed.

Ellen Eldridge: Therapy taught Vanessa to relax and recharge so that she can support her children's mental health.

Vanessa: Through therapy I've learned that you have to take some time for you and kind of take a break a little bit so that you can be fulfilled and you can be your best self again.

Ellen Eldridge: Which can help children grow into their best selves, too. McPherson says infant mental health providers support social and emotional development, and that reduces the risk of future mental illness. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Mercedes-Benz plans to establish its North American headquarters in metro Atlanta. The German automaker said today that it will expand its existing U.S. Corporate hub by adding hundreds of jobs relocated from other cities. The change will add about 500 jobs to the Georgia facility that has served as Mercedes-Benz's U.S. Headquarters since 2018. The company also plans to add a multi-million dollar research and development center nearby. Mercedes-Benz North America CEO Jason Hoff said the expansion in Sandy Springs will enable the company "be more agile, increase speed to market, and ensure the best customer experience."

Story 7:

Peter Biello: About 2.6 million people are expected to travel through Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport over a week-long Memorial Day travel period, which began on Wednesday. Tomorrow is expected to be the busiest day with 378,000 passengers at ATL. Airport spokesman Andrew Gobiel says planning ahead is essential.

Andrew Gobiel: When you get to the airport you may see some traffic patterns that are that are a little different. Just follow the signs, make sure you're well aware of where you're going, and that will help. Arrive here at the airport at least two to two and a half hours prior to your departure time.

Peter Biello: Parking deck construction has reduced pick-up and drop-off to just two lanes in the South Terminal.

Peter Biello: And that's a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today, but we'll be back tomorrow, so subscribe now and you won't miss a thing, and check out gpb.org/news for updates. If you have feedback or a story idea, something you think we should be covering, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email. It goes to the whole team. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news