October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month This month, Cover Georgia celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness month and all the Georgia women who are affected by this disease, including Yosha Dotson. We also celebrate that Medicaid covers low-income women fighting Breast and Cervical cancers.
Since 2010, 10 rural hospitals have closed in Georgia. That puts Georgia fifth in the nation for hospital closures. Rural hospitals in states that have not expanded Medicaid to low-income adults are more likely to close, shutting off access to care for their communities and residents.
Travis suffered from a series of strokes when he was 11 years old that left him with several physical disabilities. He is one of the approximately 250,000 Georgians with disabilities to be covered by Medicaid. Several years ago, Travis started volunteering with DisabilityLINK because he believes in the power of community and he likes being able to help others. Since then, he was hired as a Independent Living Specialist at the organization, where he connects
Last week, Virginia became the latest state to expand health care coverage to low-income adults when the Virginia legislature voted to close the its coverage gap and Governor Northam signed the new budget. More than 400,000 Virginians are expected to gain coverage as a result, and the state anticipates declines in uncompensated care costs for hospitals, an increase in people receiving needed health services, and greater financial security for those set to gain coverage. The
Originally posted at GBPI.org Georgia’s Health Coverage Gap State lawmakers can put an insurance card in the pockets of 473,000 Georgians by bringing home money from the federal government to pay for coverage. About 240,000 Georgians make too little to get financial help to buy health insurance on the Marketplace and don’t currently qualify for Medicaid. These Georgians are stuck in the coverage gap with no affordable health insurance options. Rural Georgia is struggling. Six rural
In December 2019, Georgia’s Governor asked federal officials to approve changes to the state’s Medicaid program. Medicaid is a public health insurance program that currently covers half of Georgia’s children, some low-income seniors and people with disabilities, low- and moderate-income pregnant women, and very low-income parents. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) gave states the option to expand Medicaid to cover adults making slightly more than poverty-level wages (about $16,700 for an individual and $35,900 for
In December 2019, Governor Brian Kemp asked the federal government to approve a plan that would make seismic changes to private health insurance in Georgia. Gov. Kemp’s plan is made up of two parts: 1) Reinsurance—which would help to lower premiums; and 2) the Georgia Access model—which would undermine comprehensive coverage for the 500,000 Georgians who now have comprehensive coverage through the marketplace and put future enrollees at risk. Federal law allows states to make
Originally posted at HealthyFutureGA.org Georgians across the state are being asked to decide how they will cast their votes in November for positions such as Governor, Insurance Commissioner, state senator and state representative. The decisions made by voters about these elected positions will directly impact critical consumer health issues in Georgia like access to health care, affordability of health insurance, the opioid crisis, and the sustainability of the rural health care system. As candidates crisscross
Background: In 2019, Georgia submitted a plan to the Centers Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand Medicaid to a certain subset of Georgians. Under the plan, called the Georgia Pathways waiver, the state planned to allow individuals aged 19-64 making up to 100% of the federal poverty line (FPL) ($12,880 for an individual and $17,420 for a family of 2) to apply for Medicaid coverage. The Georgia Pathways plan also required these newly eligible
Thank you for sharing your Pathways program experiences with state leaders! On December 7th, the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) held a public forum about the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program. The forum included an opportunity for Georgians to provide feedback about the program. About a dozen commenters shared stories and feedback with DCH leaders about the program. One commenter who has cancer described her attempt to try to get covered in Pathways. “I am unable to work due to my illness. This