Fewer than 300 people have been approved for Georgia’s new Medicaid program for select low-income adults who are accumulating sufficient working hours and other eligible activities each month.
The program On sale July 1st, garnering national attention as Georgia becomes the only new state to require low-income adults eligible for public health insurance programs to work or work equivalent. Thursday provided the first glimpse of how the program is working so far.
Lynette Rose, chief health policy officer for the state and community health departments that manage Medicaid programs, said in a public presentation Thursday that 265 people have been approved to participate in the new program.
“I just wanted the committee to know that there is still work to be done for Pathways, but overall the core The feature is up and the program is working.”
Republican Governor Brian Kemp originally announced In 2019, the first year of his appointment, he was on the road to covering Georgia. His plan was approved late in the Trump administration, but its start was delayed by the Biden administration’s frustration over labor requirements.
Georgians earning less than $14,580 annually must complete 80 hours of work, on-the-job training, community service, schooling, or other eligible activities to obtain and maintain health insurance through this program. .
The state plans to enroll about 100,000 people in the first year, but the state estimates that up to 345,000 Georgians could meet the income threshold. It was always expected that the program would take a long time to launch, but the early numbers show a slow start to signups.
The program is also rolling out as Medicaid registrants across the country go through the eligibility verification process following a pandemic-era federal rule that temporarily barred states from excluding people from the program. State officials said they are trying to get people who have lost coverage onto the pathway as much as possible.
in June, Nearly 100,000 people lost Many health insurance coverages during termination are for procedural reasons, not because they were deemed ineligible. two-thirds of them was a child.
A further 68,000 people lost coverage last month, according to a preview of the July report presented at a meeting on Thursday.
Kemp University spokeswoman Garrison Douglas was optimistic Thursday when asked if the program was seen as on track to meet Georgia Pathways’ enrollment projections.
“As the federal government begins and directs the process of redefining current Medicaid beneficiaries, Georgia is the only state in the country that simultaneously offers new avenues of health care coverage and opportunity.” Mr Douglas said.
“As applications continue to be reviewed, the number of people who will benefit from this new and innovative program will continue to grow,” he added.
But Georgia Democrats, who have long pushed for full Medicaid expansion, on Thursday lashed out at the governor’s plan. Georgia has one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation and is one of ten states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
“At this rate, it will take the governor 28 years to reach the estimated 90,000 registered members.
Proponents of the Georgia Pathway argue that it is a conservative approach that helps guide people to private insurance options through exchanges and employers. But Butler dismissed Georgia Pathways as a “half-baked measure” that would cost more and cover fewer people than the traditional expansion, which could cover about half a million people.
Johns Creek Democrat Rep. Michelle Oh said the combined effect of the new Medicaid coverage option and the easing would amount to “a half step forward, then three big steps back.”
“States touting record fiscal surpluses should not tolerate this as a result,” Oh said. “Furthermore, the devastating reality that hundreds and thousands of low-income children in Georgia will lose health insurance coverage, even if the pathway to coverage is in place, even if it is politically motivated. cannot forgive.”
See here for more information on routes to coverage in Georgia. here. For more information about the Medicaid redetermination process, also known as Medicaid release, visit: Staycoverd.ga.gov.
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