This Veterans Day, let’s talk about our military heroes and their health. It’s the least we can do for those who sacrificed to serve our country and protect our freedom. But not all Veterans can get the affordable, quality health coverage that they need and deserve – and many are being left behind. As of 2020, across the country, there are more than 1 million Veterans who can’t access the critical physical and mental health care they need. In Georgia, 14,000 veterans cannot access care because our state lawmakers are refusing to close the coverage gap. 

As we come together to honor our Veterans and the sacrifices they made to keep us safe, we must urge our elected leaders to bridge the coverage gap by expanding Medicaid. One in every five uninsured Georgia Veterans (and their families) would be able to get the essential health coverage they need to stay healthy and thrive.

Contrary to the wide-spread misconception that all veterans receive health services at the Veteran’s Administration (VA), veterans can be uninsured for several reasons. Those who serve for less than two years, or have an “other than honorable” discharge, may not be eligible for VA benefits. Moreover, eligibility status is prioritized according to a history of service-related injuries and income, among other factors; those in lower priority groups may be denied services. Some veterans may also be unaware of their current eligibility for VA benefits, either because they have never applied, or because they have been rejected in the past.

Medicaid expansion has made a significant difference in communities across the country by allowing residents to secure affordable, high-quality health coverage for themselves and their loved ones. 

Veterans and their families deserve access to quality care. It has been reported that less than half of returning Veterans receive the mental health support and treatment they need. With Medicaid, vital mental health services like therapy, inpatient treatment, and prescription medication are all covered. Expanding Medicaid and closing the coverage gap would allow more Veterans and their families to access essential and potentially life-saving mental health services.

Georgia Veterans protected our freedom and served our country. This Veterans Day, let’s honor them by fighting for Medicaid expansion. It’s past time for state lawmakers to act so all Veterans and their families have access to the healthcare they need and deserve. 

Georgia is one of 12 states that has not yet taken up Medicaid expansion, denying hundreds of thousands of working adults access to quality, affordable health care. If the state expanded Medicaid coverage, approximately 452,600 uninsured adults, or 39 percent of the state’s uninsured adult population, could gain health insurance.

Thanks to a new report from our partners at Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, we know that 44 percent of those working without insurance are employed in the hospitality, retail, and administrative, support, and waste management industries. These are cashiers, cooks, maids and housekeeping staff, waiters/waitresses, and freight and stock laborers who earn too much to qualify for current Medicaid coverage and too little to buy private insurance. 

Many of them are essential workers that we have relied upon in some way during the pandemic. Now it’s our turn to help them get reliable, affordable health insurance so they can continue to do their jobs and care for their families. It’s time for Georgia to accept generous federal funding to expand Medicaid to our state’s uninsured workers.

Where Do Georgia’s Uninsured Workers Live?

The map below shows that the uninsured rate for all non-elderly adult workers varies considerably across the state of Georgia, ranging from 6.8 percent in Harris County to 35.1 percent in Atkinson County. Hover over the map to check out the uninsured rate for working adults in your county.

Our state leaders have a new opportunity to support the health of Georgians across the state! Under the recently passed American Rescue Plan, Georgia is eligible to receive a sizable financial payment for finally expanding Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would bring peace of mind to more than 500,000 adults with low incomes who are uninsured or struggling to afford health coverage. This is a deal too good to pass up! 

Through the American Rescue Plan, Georgia is eligible to receive a $1.3 Billion incentive for expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. These savings could cover the costs of the Medicaid expansion program ($640 million over two years). The remainder ($710 million) could put towards other state priorities, like increased funding for schools or expanding broadband to marginalized communities.

Over half a million Georgians do not have meaningful access to health care because Georgia leaders have refused to expand Medicaid. With one move, our state could provide coverage to Georgia’s low-income families, speed up our state’s economic recovery after COVID-19, stabilize rural hospitals, reduce racial health disparities, and address top state priorities. 

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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 a family of four). Unfortunately, Georgia is one of only 14 states who have so far refused to extend health insurance to these low-income Georgians. That leaves 408,000 uninsured Georgians ineligible for Medicaid, and at the same time, their incomes remain too low to qualify for financial help to buy coverage through the ACA’s health insurance marketplace.

Governor Kemp’s plan to change Medicaid, called Georgia Pathways, will do little to close this coverage gap. The state estimates the plan will cover only about 50,000 low-income Georgians because of the unwarranted complications that it puts in place. The Governor’s plan ultimately leaves thousands of low-income Georgians uninsured and ignores the most cost-effective solution available: Medicaid expansion.

Some low-income Georgians would be allowed to enroll in Medicaid

The Governor’s plan would allow Georgians with incomes up to the poverty line (or those with incomes of less than $12,700 for an individual or $26,000 for a family of four) to enroll in Medicaid. 

This change, sometimes called a “partial Medicaid expansion,” falls short of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion which envisioned that states would cover adults making slightly more than poverty-level income. Under the Governor’s plan, 408,000 Georgians could qualify for coverage—if they can meet the stringent requirements described below.  Under a full Medicaid expansion, Georgia could cover 567,000 low-income adults. 

Georgians would be subjected to illegal paperwork requirements to enroll in coverage

Under the Governor’s plan, Georgia adults who may qualify for coverage must prove they are working or performing certain activities for at least 80 hours a month. Work and qualifying activities include full or part-time employment, community service, vocational readiness, certain education activities, or job readiness. Qualifying activities do not include caregiving and participating in substance use recovery programs; Georgians who are homeless or have limited access to the internet would not be excused from the reporting requirements.

If the Governor’s plan is approved, Georgians would be required to complete bureaucratic paperwork to prove they are spending 80 hours a month participating in an eligible activity before they can enroll in Medicaid coverage. They must continue to prove their work or other activities to Georgia’s government for at least three months. After that, they would be subject to random requests for proof of continued work. 

Other states have attempted to implement similarly burdensome “work requirements.” In those states, thousands of qualified people lost their health care coverage because they were unable to successfully report their work due to technology barriers, insufficient notice from the state about the requirements, bureaucratic mistakes, and other issues. As a result, work requirements are currently the subject of a federal lawsuit and have been deemed illegal by three federal courts. 

Low-income Georgians must pay premiums and copays to Georgia’s government

The current proposal requires that Georgians making between 50 – 100% of the federal poverty line (between $6300-$12,700 annually for an individual) would be required to pay monthly premiums of $7-$11 per month. If an enrollee misses two months of premium payments, their coverage would be suspended and after three months of missed payments, the person would lose their coverage. When accessing health care services, enrollees would be required to additionally pay copays of up to $30 per visit. 

Traditionally, Medicaid members have not been required to pay premiums or co-pays because their incomes are so low. While the state caps enrollees’ cost-sharing at 5% of a person’s income, that could add up to as much as $600 for an individual and $1300 for a family of four per year, who are surviving on poverty-level wages. 

The plan eliminates the option for low-income Georgians to get transportation to their health appointments 

Under the Governor’s plan, Georgians who enroll in coverage would not have access to some traditional Medicaid benefits like non-emergency medical transportation. Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a free service that provides transportation to people who are covered by Medicaid who do not have their own way to get to and from health appointments or the pharmacy. The program is especially important for people with disabilities, seniors, rural residents, and people of color. 

Adequate transportation is important to the health of Georgians because in most cases people need to go to a location outside of their homes to receive medical care. Without access to reliable, safe transportation, Georgians may be forced to skip health appointments, go without medication and ultimately, experience worse health outcomes. 

According to the Georgia and Budget Policy Institute, “Cutting out transportation is not likely to significantly reduce state costs but would deeply impact rural Georgians who may live farther away from health facilities. Non-emergency medical transportation is less than two percent of traditional Medicaid spending in Georgia according to GBPI’s budget calculations. A relatively small investment in Medicaid funding could mean a huge difference to Georgians who don’t have reliable access to safe transportation.”

The plan creates a complicated, expensive bureaucracy  

The state’s proposed plan creates complicated restrictions and burdens for low-income Georgians. In addition to the paperwork requirements and required cost-sharing, the Governor’s plan would establish a member rewards account and a point reward system for enrollees. Consumers’ monthly premiums would be deposited into their rewards account, which could be used to pay future copays for health services. The point reward system would “reward” individuals for healthy behaviors and add money to the account based on those behaviors. 

Indiana initially operated a similar reward system as part of their version of Medicaid expansion. The state saw limited participation and no benefits to beneficiaries’ health because of the complexity of the system, which mirrors Georgia’s in many ways. Ultimately, these kinds of systems are expensive and ineffective at keeping Medicaid enrollees enrolled in coverage, facilitating access to comprehensive benefits, or achieving better health outcomes. 

Governor Kemp’s office has not provided an estimate of the costs to the state to operate the rewards systems, track work requirements or collect premiums. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, “Other states that have tried to implement a work requirement reported costs ranging from $6 million to $272 million, according to the federal Government Accountability Office.” The intricacies of Georgia’s plan would require significant spending by the state that is not currently budgeted for in the Governor’s plan.

Georgia would pay three times more per person than needed

The Governor’s plan only expands coverage to Georgians making up to the poverty line, rather than slightly more than the poverty level (138% of the federal poverty level) as intended by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Because Georgia is not proposing a full Medicaid expansion, the state will have to pay three times more per person to carry out this plan. When states fully expand Medicaid, the federal government covers at least 90% of the costs of the expansion and the state has to pay only 10% of the costs. If Georgia were to full expand Medicaid coverage the state would be eligible for this “enhanced match”. Instead, Georgia will pay 33% of the costs (and the federal government will pay the remaining 67% ) of the Governor’s plan–three times more than needed. 

Conclusion 

Governor Kemp’s plan to change Medicaid in Georgia does not work for Georgians. It would exclude most low-income, uninsured adults and subject those who can enroll to illegal, complicated, and expensive requirements. At the same time, the plan passes up the most cost-effective option to provide coverage to low-income adults in Georgia. 

Our elected officials have the power to ensure that every Georgian, regardless of income, have access to affordable, comprehensive coverage. Leaders of 34 other states have made the choice to expand Medicaid and their states are reaping the benefits. Georgia can join them, but elected officials need to hear from you. Ask Governor Kemp and your state legislators to expand Medicaid. 

Originally posted by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Julia Asherman is a first-generation farmer who owns and operates Rag & Frass Farm in Twiggs County. Rag & Frass produces beautiful vegetables, fruits and specialty flowers for customers throughout Middle and North Georgia. “I feel like farming is just very fulfilling,” says Julia, “I’ve always been a plant person.”

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, Julia wears all the hats in her company. She works nearly 365 days a year to make her farm profitable in the face of uncertainty from weather, pests and markets. Julia leverages available tools like farm insurance to help mitigate risk for her business, but she hasn’t been able to protect the most important part of her farm: herself.

For years, Julia had no affordable health insurance options. She wasn’t eligible for Georgia’s restrictive Medicaid program and didn’t earn enough money to qualify for financial help to buy health insurance on the marketplace. Her health premium would’ve been $500 a month, almost twice what she pays for her mortgage.

“I have a farm insurance policy that covers if a tornado takes down a greenhouse, and I have liability that covers if someone gets sick from something I produce,” Julia says, “but I don’t have anything protecting me.”

Farming is a fundamental profession, yet agriculture is also one of the most dangerous industries in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer an injury that forces them to miss work. Farmers are nearly twice as likely to die on the job as police officers and five times as likely as firefighters. From tractors rolling over to snake bites, farmers face frequent threats to their health.

I have a farm insurance policy that covers if a tornado takes down a greenhouse, and I have liability that covers if someone gets sick from something I produce, but I don’t have anything protecting me.

“I’m on a tractor, I’m using heavy equipment, I’m on ladders,” Julia says. “I get on my own roof when I have to patch the roof. There are just a lot of risks.”

Up to 4,200 Georgia agriculture workers could gain affordable health insurance if state lawmakers expand eligibility for the state Medicaid program, according to a 2013 analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. All told, Julia and 470,000 other Georgians could be covered through Medicaid expansion. For every one dollar invested by state leaders, Georgia would receive nine federal dollars back for health care. That’s a return on investment that any small business owner would love to have, according to Julia.

Georgia’s Medicaid program currently provides health coverage to almost 2 million residents, including about 1.3 million children and half a million Georgians who are blind, disabled or elderly. About 8 percent of Georgians who qualify for Medicaid are pregnant women or parents with dependent children and very low income (e.g., a family of three would have to bring in less than $6,612 a year to qualify).

Hear Julia’s story in her own words with this short video.

Julia saw these limits firsthand when she went to her local DFCS office to ask about Medicaid coverage for herself given her low income. “They actually told me that I would need to be blind or pregnant to get [Medicaid].”

Beyond the risks of injuries on the job that could cripple her farm, Julia hasn’t been able to afford basic preventative care like mammograms or physicals in recent years. She sees public investments in other local services and can’t figure out why health care solutions are ignored by state leaders. “I don’t understand why there’s a public library but nobody cares if I can get a mammogram.”

I see my health as vital to my farm’s existence and success. If I’m not healthy or able to work because I’m injured, that’s the thing that makes me worry about losing the farm.

While Julia has struggled for years to stay healthy and grow her business, state lawmakers have repeatedly rejected billions of federal dollars meant to pay for health coverage. Every year state lawmakers block Medicaid expansion, Georgia forfeits $3 billion to the federal government. Those dollars could be used to put an insurance card in the pockets of farmers and entrepreneurs like Julia. The majority of people who would be covered by Medicaid expansion are working.

Julia has persevered through all challenges that have confronted Rag & Frass farm thus far and cultivated a growing small business with customers across the state. Yet the biggest risk outside of her control gives her pause.

“I see my health as vital to my farm’s existence and success,” says Julia. “If I’m not healthy or able to work because I’m injured, that’s the thing that makes me worry about losing the farm.”

You can make a difference for Julia and 470,000 other Georgians by showing your support for Medicaid expansion. Contact your lawmakers today. And visit Rag & Frass to buy incredible produce and flowers!

Teresa began working as a teacher for the Headstart preschool program in 1994 but retired in 2010 because multiple health conditions made it difficult for her to work. Now her family’s only source of income is her husband’s monthly disability check, which is too high to allow him to qualify for Medicaid and too low to allow them to qualify for financial help to purchase private insurance through the Affordable Care Act. (Teresa cannot qualify for Medicaid no matter how low her income is because she does not have a disability or a child under the age of 18.) Both of them fall in Georgia’s coverage gap.

Teresa and her husband are just two of 197 of the Georgians in Clay County that are uninsured because Georgia’s decision makers have not extended health insurance coverage to low-income adults in Georgia (those making less than $16,000 annually for an individual or $20,780 for a family of three.)

Teresa struggles to manage multiple health conditions, the worst of which is a jaw condition that has caused her teeth to rot. Because Teresa has not had health coverage since 2009, she has had to find alternative, insufficient treatments for her jaw condition. She would have to pay $5000—almost four months of income—to receive the necessary medical remedies to alleviate her pain and stop the dental deterioration. If Georgia were to close the coverage gap, Teresa would be able to see her doctor on a regular basis without having to forgo appointments and services that would otherwise be too costly.

Georgia’s Governor and legislature have so far rejected the option to close the state’s coverage gap, leaving people like Teresa and her husband uninsured. Until Georgia’s policymakers extend health insurance to all low-income Georgians, Teresa, her husband, and 240,000 other Georgians will likely continue to skip health care appointments and forgo needed care because they have no pathway to coverage.

Originally posted at HealthyFutureGA.org.

You can help spread the word about Medicaid expansion on social media and through your networks! Leverage the resources below, tag social media posts with #coverga and link to https://coverga.wpengine.com to help your network take action.

For example:

Now is the time for Georgia lawmakers to support struggling rural hospitals, address the opioid crisis and provide health care access to 470,000 Georgians by expanding Medicaid. #coverga https://coverga.wpengine.com

We can’t afford to wait

State lawmakers can help 470,000 Georgians access affordable health care by expanding Medicaid.

Now is the time for Georgia lawmakers to support struggling rural hospitals, address the opioid crisis and provide health care access to 470,000 Georgians by expanding Medicaid eligibility.

Georgia has refused more than $12 billion federal dollars meant to put health insurance cards in the pockets of Georgia families. We can’t afford to keep waiting to expand health coverage.

Georgia is turning down $8 million a day —$3 billion per year—in money we could be using to help hardworking Georgians access health care.

Georgians can’t afford another year of turning down billions of federal dollars that could be coming back to the state to stabilize struggling hospitals, create thousands jobs and provide health coverage to working Georgians.

As taxpayers, Georgians have already invested in boosting access to health care. If we don’t accept this opportunity in Georgia, the federal government simply keeps our tax dollars.

Basic details

About 240,000 Georgians make too little to get financial help to buy health insurance and don’t currently qualify for Medicaid. These Georgians are stuck in the coverage gap with no affordable insurance options. Why? State leaders keep turning down money meant for health coverage.

Many people in the coverage gap work low-wage jobs where they’re not offered health benefits.

The majority of people who would be covered by expanding Medicaid are working. Many of these workers are in some of Georgia’s most important economic sectors: construction, transportation, education and retail.

Strengthen rural communities

Expanding health coverage would support Georgia’s rural hospitals, economic anchor institutions for rural communities across the state.

Closing the coverage gap would create at least 12,000 new jobs and $1.3 billion in new activity in Georgia’s rural communities each year.

Support behavioral Health

About 25% of uninsured Georgians who would qualify for Medicaid expansion coverage suffer from mental illness or substance abuse.

States that expanded Medicaid connected treatment services to more people with mental illness or substance abuse disorder.

Help women access care

Closing Georgia’s coverage gap would extend health insurance to more than 155,000 uninsured women in Georgia.

Georgia ranks among the bottom five states for women’s health insurance coverage.

Financial security

Just one medical bill can send you into bankruptcy when you’re uninsured. Hardworking families in Georgia need health coverage to get care when they need it without facing huge medical bills or going into bankruptcy.

Accountability

Georgia has refused $12 billion federal dollars meant to put health insurance cards in the pockets of Georgia families. Contact your reps and ask them: why? https://coverga.wpengine.com

Six Georgia rural hospitals have closed since 2013 and many more are struggling. But Speaker David Ralston “isn’t in the mood” to expand health coverage and stabilize rural communities. https://coverga.wpengine.com

Instead of expanding health coverage, Lt. Gov. Cagle spent a year studying the state’s biggest health care problems. His solution? More research. How long do we have to wait? https://coverga.wpengine.com

This blog originally posted at GBPI.org

Thousands of Georgians are stuck without any affordable options for health insurance because state leaders repeatedly reject billions of dollars meant to pay for coverage. About 240,000 workers, students, veterans and other Georgians make too little to get financial help to buy health insurance and do not currently qualify for Medicaid. The majority of these Georgians are working in low-wage jobs where they are not offered health benefits.

Georgia is one of 18 states yet to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover more low-income residents. The map below shows the number of uninsured Georgians who could get coverage if Georgia lawmakers voted to fully expand Medicaid. The federal government covers up to 90 percent of the cost for states to expand income eligibility. This amounts to about $3 billion each year in federal dollars coming back to the state to pay for health care services.

Georgia is home to the fifth-highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Accepting the federal money can help hospitals struggling to stay open and cover the costs of caring for a high number of uninsured patients. Georgia would save an average of $200 million each year from lower costs of providing care to the uninsured.

To find out how a state decision to expand health coverage can benefit your community, browse the map below. Click a county to see detailed data and download specific county resources.

Number of Georgians that Could Gain Health Coverage by Expanding Medicaid

Download Your Fact Sheet

Georgia (statewide), Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Calhoun, Camden, Candler, Carroll, Catoosa, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinch, Cobb, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Douglas, Early, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Glascock, Glynn, Gordon, Grady, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Hart, Heard, Henry, Houston, Irwin, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Macon, Madison, Marion, McDuffie, McIntosh, Meriwether, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pierce, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Schley, Screven, Seminole, Spalding, Stephens, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, White, Whitfield, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Worth

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 hospitals have shuttered since 2013 across the state, and more than half of Georgia’s remaining rural hospitals are financially vulnerable to closure.
• Opioid abuse and unmet mental health needs are decimating communities statewide, exacerbated by high uninsured rates among working Georgians who simply can’t afford access to care.
• The problem is only getting worse. Georgia’s uninsured rate of 12.9 percent is fifth worst in the country. In rural Georgia, the uninsured rate could climb to more than 25 percent by 2026.
• Georgians are already paying taxes toward closing our coverage gap, but state leaders have refused billions in federal health care dollars meant to pay for Georgians’ health coverage and stabilize struggling rural hospitals.

Hardworking Georgians need health coverage to stay healthy

• Working Georgians who could gain coverage earn income below 138 percent of the federal poverty level: about $16,750 for an individual, $22,715 for a family of two and $28,675 for a family of three.
• The majority of people who would be covered by expanding Medicaid are working but often not offered health benefits through their job.
• Closing Georgia’s coverage gap would extend health insurance to more than 155,000 uninsured women in Georgia. Georgia ranks among the bottom five states for women’s health insurance coverage.
• Closing the coverage gap could extend health insurance to nearly half of Georgia’s uninsured veterans, expanding coverage to 32,000 uninsured veterans and military spouses in our state.

Now is the time for state lawmakers to expand health coverage

• Most other states have already put insurance cards in the pockets of hard-working families, helping them afford to see a doctor when they get sick. Georgia is one of only 17 states to not close the coverage gap by expanding Medicaid.
• State leaders have delayed offering serious solutions for Georgia’s worsening health care crisis for years, waiting on Congress to provide a solution that hasn’t come.
• As Georgia leaders refuse to close the coverage gap, the federal government simply keeps our tax dollars. Each year we wait, our state misses out on $3 billion federal dollars meant to pay for Georgians’ health coverage. That’s more than $8 million each day.
• Georgia has already missed out on $12 billion federal health care dollars. Georgia can’t afford to keep waiting.

Closing coverage gap yields big economic benefits for state

• For every dollar the state spends on closing the coverage gap, Georgia receives up to $9 in federal funding.
• Closing the coverage gap could create 56,000 jobs in Georgia each year and boost the state’s economic output by $6.5 billion annually.
• Closing the coverage gap would create at least 12,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in new economic activity in Georgia’s rural communities each year.

Stabilize struggling rural hospitals by closing the coverage gap

• Many Georgia hospitals are struggling because they treat so many patients who lack health insurance and can’t afford high out-of-pocket costs. Closing the coverage gap opens up an important revenue stream to ensure rural communities have access to health care.
• Taxpayers end up paying a share of the cost for uninsured people who show up in emergency rooms. Closing the coverage gap would allow people to go to their doctor instead of the emergency room when they get sick.
• Other states have seen significant reductions in uncompensated care after closing their coverage gaps: Arkansas experienced a 56.4 percent decrease, and Kentucky saw a 59.7 percent decrease.

Strengthen mental health, substance use treatment by expanding health coverage

• Closing the coverage gap can significantly strengthen behavioral health treatment and services in Georgia. About 25 percent of uninsured Georgians who would qualify for Medicaid expansion coverage suffer from mental illness or substance abuse.
• States that closed their coverage gap expanded treatment services to more people with mental illness or substance use disorders. Kentucky saw a 700 percent increase in Medicaid beneficiaries using substance use treatment services after the state expanded eligibility in 2014.

Georgia can afford to close the coverage gap

• Georgia can afford to close the coverage gap, but state leaders have so far chosen to spend tax dollars in other ways, like $309 million for insurance company tax breaks. State leaders could also increase Georgia’s bargain-basement tobacco tax to raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
• Closing the coverage gap would extend health coverage almost half a million Georgians, support struggling hospitals, create 56,000 jobs and bring in $3 billion from the federal government. The net cost to Georgia would be $136 million a year on average.

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 vote comes after years of advocacy and engagement from constituents and advocates who worked to convey to legislators the importance of health coverage and the impact the change would have on the lives of hundreds of thousands of Virginians.

Unlike Virginians, 240,000 hard-working Georgians cannot yet look forward to putting a health insurance card in their pockets. These friends and neighbors make too little to get financial help to buy health insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid in Georgia, leaving them stuck in the state’s coverage gap.

Georgia remains one of 17 states that is still refusing billions in federal health care dollars to provide health coverage to low-income adults in the state. As in Virginia, Georgia’s Governor and state legislature can choose to close the coverage gap at any time, and here are five reasons they should do so as soon as possible:

Thousands of Georgians would gain health coverage–240,000 Georgians would gain the peace of mind, access to care, and financial protection that insured Georgians have. These Georgians make less than $12,140 a year  or $20,780 for a family of three. Most are working in sectors like retail, child care, construction, and food service, low-paying jobs that do not come with benefits.

Georgia’s rural hospitals are economic anchor institutions–rural communities need their hospitals to provide accessible healthcare, sustain well-paid jobs, and facilitate economic stability. Closing the coverage gap would create at least 12,000 new jobs and $1.3 billion in new activity in Georgia’s rural communities each year.

The resulting job growth is greater than what the state would gain by attracting Amazon’s HQ2–extending health coverage to more Georgians would create 56,000 new jobs across the state, more than the 50,000 jobs that Amazon is promising at its second headquarters. Even better, the new jobs would be scattered across the state rather than concentrated in and around Atlanta.

Georgia’s tax dollars are currently sitting unused in Washington, D.C.–By refusing to extend health insurance to low-income Georgians, the state is missing out on $8 million per day ($3 billion dollars per year). Instead of giving up hard-earned tax dollars, Georgia’s policy makers could bring that money back to the state to help low-income parents, veterans, and workers put health insurance cards in their wallets.

It is the biggest step Georgia can take to slow the substance use crisis —One quarter (25%) of Georgians who fall in the coverage gap are estimated to have a mental illness or substance use disorder. If they were covered by health insurance, treatment and recovery services would be within reach, allowing them to resume full, healthy lives. As a result, 36,000 fewer Georgians each year would experience symptoms of depression and the state could make significant progress in addressing its ongoing substance use crisis.

After five years of delay, Virginia’s leaders made the right decision and as a result, 400,000 Virginians will see healthier futures. Now is the time for Georgia’s decision makers to follow suite by putting 240,000 insurance cards in wallets all across the state.

Originally posted at HealthyFutureGA.org