On In Focus this weekend, JoDee Kenney’s stand-in, Marisa Jacques, discusses women’s health with state Senator Lea Webb. Webb, who holds a degree in neuroscience from Binghamton University, spoke about the history of her work at Southern Her Tier and her interest in health care policy. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Webb served as the first Black member of the Binghamton City Council. Her senator spoke about her work in helping women enter the political arena and bring their experience and passion to the electoral process.
Webb also spoke about her work in policies to improve maternal outcomes. Black women are more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, according to New York State Department of Health data. Twice as high, Webb says he’s sponsoring legislation to reverse that trend. One of her bills would expand access for Medicaid recipient doulas to her services, which Webb said would provide support and education during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. The senator also spoke about a bill that would require reproductive health equity assessments as part of the approval process for hospital mergers. Webb debated a bill that would provide Reproductive Her Health practitioners with additional protections to keep them from being prosecuted in other states.
You can watch Part 1 of our interview with State Senator Lee Webb in the video player above. Part 2 can be found here. Also, tune in to her In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday for an inside look at the biggest issues affecting upstate New York. Spectrum News 1.
