Thousands of Georgia Veterans are Uninsured without Medicaid expansion
Increasing Medicaid Coverage could extend health insurance to 1 in 5 of Georgia’s uninsured veterans
Georgians for a Healthy Future
November 2, 2023
Increasing Medicaid Coverage could extend health insurance to 1 in 5 of Georgia’s uninsured veterans
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.
September is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Month One in four uninsured Georgians who also have low-incomes have a mental illness and/or addiction to drugs or alcohol. Right now, these Georgians often cannot access health services to help them recover except through our state’s limited mental health safety net. These Georgians–our friends and neighbors–could be covered and find better help if Georgia leaders expanded Medicaid to low-income adults.
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.
Georgia is one of 10 states that has not yet expanded Medicaid. Our leaders’ in action leaves thousands of low-income Georgia adults without health insurance. Instead of expanding Medicaid, Governor Kemp created a new program called Georgia Pathways to Coverage. This program will cover some low-income adults, but it has a lot of rules and requirements. To qualify for Pathways, you must meet all of these four requirements: Be a U.S. citizen or a qualified
Cover Georgia celebrates the 58th anniversary of Medicaid this Sunday, July 30th! Fifty-eight (58) years ago Medicaid was signed into law and since then has worked to provide affordable health care coverage to low-income children and families, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and seniors. One of Medicaid’s biggest lifetime achievements has been to narrow racial disparities in health care access all across the country. This year, Medicaid’s birthday is happening amidst two BIG changes for
In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a plan that would limit new Medicaid coverage to a much more restricted number of Georgians. The Governor’s plan would impose debunked “proof of work” requirements and require unaffordable premiums for some enrollees. The Trump administration approved the complete plan in 2020. In December 2021 the Biden administration changed its approval to disallow the burdensome work requirements and premiums. You can read more about the back-and-forth over the
Medicaid has been a fundamental part of Georgia’s health care system for 54 years. Medicaid covers half of Georgia kids, half of births in the state, and three out of four Georgians in long-term care (like nursing homes). Without Medicaid, low-income Georgia families would have no access to affordable, quality health care.
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
Georgia Democrats have campaigned for Medicaid expansion over the past decade, with strong support among their voters. Georgia Republicans have been more hesitant to embrace the policy, which would allow low-income adults and parents to access health care through Medicaid. New polling commissioned by Georgians for a Healthy Future finds that the support for expansion today goes far beyond Democrats. A strong majority supports expansion, suggesting that expansion in 2022 would benefit incumbents running for