Georgia Wants More Pathways Funding, Not Expansion
Cover Georgia Community Update | August 2026
Georgia’s Department of Community Health plans to ask the federal government to make a major change to Pathways to Coverage.
Georgians have until September 14 to weigh in.
What’s Happening
Georgia’s Department of Community Health (DCH), the state agency that runs Pathways to Coverage, asked the federal government for permission to change how the program is paid for. If its request is not approved, DCH suggested that it would close the Pathways program.
Some Quick Context
Pathways to Coverage currently requires people to prove they are working, in school, or doing another approved activity for a set number of hours each month in order to qualify for health coverage. About 18,500 Georgians are currently enrolled in the program.
What DCH Is Asking For
DCH’s proposed request asks the federal government to cover 90% of program costs rather than the current 66%. The 90% program rate is the same higher rate the federal government pays to states that have expanded Medicaid to cover more people. Georgia would like the same deal, but without going the extra step of expanding Medicaid to adults with incomes just above the poverty level.
Why DCH Says It Needs This
DCH points to rising costs from the 2025 federal budget law known as H.R. 1. These costs stem from an expected increase in enrollment. Up to 100,000 additional Georgians could newly enroll in Pathways over the next few years because new federal work requirement rules are less strict than Georgia’s current rules.
What’s At Stake If It’s Denied
DCH seems to suggest that they would no longer operate the Pathways program if the amendment isn’t approved. Their letter says that if the federal government does not provide Georgia with a financial accommodation, “the state will have no alternative but to make decisions that imperil health policy goals around personal responsibility and healthy choices.”
If the Pathways program is closed, 18,500 Georgians lose their health coverage, and all Georgia adults with low-incomes are left with no option for health coverage or meaningful access to care.
Why This Matters for Pathways to Coverage
It would change whether low-income Georgians have coverage at all, whether they still have to prove they’re working or in school to keep that coverage, and how many Georgians are covered overall.
It would change how much money Georgia gets from the federal government to pay for health coverage and access to care for Georgians.
DCH’s own estimate that about 100,000 more Georgians could qualify under the less strict new rules is itself an acknowledgment that Georgia’s current Pathways requirements have been keeping eligible people out of coverage.
Make Your Voice Heard This Week
Public comment period: August 13 to September 14
Two public hearings are scheduled, and Georgians can participate in either or both.
(viewing only; this link cannot be used to comment on 08/24).
Who should plan to comment:
If you may qualify for coverage under the new, less strict federal work requirements, even though you don’t qualify under Georgia’s current Pathways rules, or you work with people in that situation: Consider making a verbal comment at one of the hearings. Your comment carries real weight because it shows exactly what’s at stake.
This could include:
Veterans with disabilities
Former foster youth
Caregivers who care for children who are younger than 13 or adults with disabilities
People with a chronic or serious health condition who may meet Georgia’s new medical frailty criteria, for example:
Someone with a cancer diagnosis who is currently undergoing treatment
A person with a substance use disorder who has been in recovery for less than 5 years
Someone with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, or an intellectual or developmental disability
An individual with a serious mental health condition
Someone who has experienced heart failure or other serious cardiac disease
Someone with a serious chronic disease that regularly or sometimes prevents them from working
If that’s not you: please plan to attend one or both hearings anyway. Showing up matters even if you don’t plan to comment. It tells DCH, state leaders, media, and others that Georgians care about each other and about what happens with our health coverage.
Planning to Comment? Here’s How to Prepare
Whether you’re speaking at a hearing or submitting a written comment, here’s a simple structure to help you get ready:
1.Introduce yourself. Share your name and where in Georgia you live.
2.Say where you stand with Pathways. Let them know if you’re currently covered by Pathways, or if you (or someone you know, care about, or work with) may newly qualify for coverage under the new Pathways rules, which start in January.
3.Explain why coverage matters to you. Be specific: Does it cover the cost of your medications? If you enrolled under the new rules, would it let you see a doctor you need? A real, personal detail is more powerful than a general statement.
4.Name the paperwork burden, if it’s affected you. If Pathways’ current reporting requirements have been confusing, time-consuming, or a barrier to getting or keeping coverage, say so plainly.
5.Close with this request: Please don’t close or limit the Pathways program. That would leave me, and Georgians like me, with nowhere to turn. Keep the program with the new federal rules, even if the extra funding isn’t approved.
Email: publiccomments@dch.ga.gov Mail: D’Lawren Hicks, c/o the Board of Community Health, P.O. Box 1966, Atlanta, GA 30301-1966
Welcome Two New Voices to Cover Georgia
This month, two organizations joined the Cover Georgia coalition, and both bring communities to this work who are too often left out of the conversation on coverage.
builds power in Georgia’s Latino community through advocacy, civic participation, and health and wellbeing programs. Their work ensures Latino Georgians, who are disproportionately affected by the coverage gap, have a voice in this coalition too.
is a disabled-led organization building power for disabled people across the South. Disabled Georgians face some of the steepest barriers to coverage and care, and New Disabled South’s organizing and mutual aid work brings that perspective directly into the coalition.
None of this work happens on its own. Closing Georgia’s coverage gap, including the future of Pathways to Coverage, takes a coalition that keeps showing up: monitoring the fine print, training advocates, and telling the real stories behind these numbers.
Your support helps us:
Train advocates and support constituent meetings with legislators
Collect and elevate stories from Georgians navigating the coverage gap
Push for policies that expand health coverage for all Georgians
Cover Georgia Community Update | August 2026 Georgia’s Department of Community Health plans to ask the federal government to make a major change to Pathways to Coverage. Georgians have until September 14 to weigh in.
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Georgia Wants More Pathways Funding, Not Expansion
Cover Georgia Community Update | August 2026
Georgia’s Department of Community Health plans to ask the federal government to make a major change to Pathways to Coverage.
Georgians have until September 14 to weigh in.What’s Happening
Georgia’s Department of Community Health (DCH), the state agency that runs Pathways to Coverage, asked the federal government for permission to change how the program is paid for. If its request is not approved, DCH suggested that it would close the Pathways program.
Some Quick Context
Pathways to Coverage currently requires people to prove they are working, in school, or doing another approved activity for a set number of hours each month in order to qualify for health coverage. About 18,500 Georgians are currently enrolled in the program.
What DCH Is Asking For
DCH’s proposed request asks the federal government to cover 90% of program costs rather than the current 66%. The 90% program rate is the same higher rate the federal government pays to states that have expanded Medicaid to cover more people. Georgia would like the same deal, but without going the extra step of expanding Medicaid to adults with incomes just above the poverty level.
Why DCH Says It Needs This
DCH points to rising costs from the 2025 federal budget law known as H.R. 1. These costs stem from an expected increase in enrollment. Up to 100,000 additional Georgians could newly enroll in Pathways over the next few years because new federal work requirement rules are less strict than Georgia’s current rules.
What’s At Stake If It’s Denied
DCH seems to suggest that they would no longer operate the Pathways program if the amendment isn’t approved. Their letter says that if the federal government does not provide Georgia with a financial accommodation, “the state will have no alternative but to make decisions that imperil health policy goals around personal responsibility and healthy choices.”
If the Pathways program is closed, 18,500 Georgians lose their health coverage, and all Georgia adults with low-incomes are left with no option for health coverage or meaningful access to care.
Why This Matters for Pathways to Coverage
It would change whether low-income Georgians have coverage at all, whether they still have to prove they’re working or in school to keep that coverage, and how many Georgians are covered overall.
It would change how much money Georgia gets from the federal government to pay for health coverage and access to care for Georgians.
DCH’s own estimate that about 100,000 more Georgians could qualify under the less strict new rules is itself an acknowledgment that Georgia’s current Pathways requirements have been keeping eligible people out of coverage.
Make Your Voice Heard This Week
Public comment period: August 13 to September 14Two public hearings are scheduled, and Georgians can participate in either or both.
Virtual Public Hearing
Wednesday, August 19 at 11:00 AM.
Join the virtual hearing.In-Person Hearing
Monday, August 24 at 12:30 PM.
Location: DCH 4th Floor Board Room, 2 MLK Jr. Drive SE, East Tower, Atlanta, GA 30334.
Watch the livestream(viewing only; this link cannot be used to comment on 08/24).
Who should plan to comment:
If you may qualify for coverage under the new, less strict federal work requirements, even though you don’t qualify under Georgia’s current Pathways rules, or you work with people in that situation: Consider making a verbal comment at one of the hearings. Your comment carries real weight because it shows exactly what’s at stake.
This could include:
If that’s not you: please plan to attend one or both hearings anyway. Showing up matters even if you don’t plan to comment. It tells DCH, state leaders, media, and others that Georgians care about each other and about what happens with our health coverage.
Planning to Comment? Here’s How to Prepare
Whether you’re speaking at a hearing or submitting a written comment, here’s a simple structure to help you get ready:
Here’s an example that may be helpful if you would like to comment.
Prefer to submit a written comment instead?
You can send one any time before September 14 by:
Email: publiccomments@dch.ga.gov
Mail: D’Lawren Hicks, c/o the Board of Community Health, P.O. Box 1966, Atlanta, GA 30301-1966
Welcome Two New Voices to Cover Georgia
This month, two organizations joined the Cover Georgia coalition, and both bring communities to this work who are too often left out of the conversation on coverage.
Latino Community Fund Georgia
builds power in Georgia’s Latino community through advocacy, civic participation, and health and wellbeing programs. Their work ensures Latino Georgians, who are disproportionately affected by the coverage gap, have a voice in this coalition too.
New Disabled South
is a disabled-led organization building power for disabled people across the South. Disabled Georgians face some of the steepest barriers to coverage and care, and New Disabled South’s organizing and mutual aid work brings that perspective directly into the coalition.
See All of Our Coalition Members
Support the Coalition
None of this work happens on its own. Closing Georgia’s coverage gap, including the future of Pathways to Coverage, takes a coalition that keeps showing up: monitoring the fine print, training advocates, and telling the real stories behind these numbers.
Your support helps us:
- Train advocates and support constituent meetings with legislators
- Collect and elevate stories from Georgians navigating the coverage gap
- Push for policies that expand health coverage for all Georgians
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