Our Impact
Through outreach and education with consumers, community-based organizations, and grassroots advocates; through coalition building and mobilization with partners and allies; and through engagement with policymakers and decision-makers, Georgians for a Healthy Future’s work has real impact. Below are some examples of our recent accomplishments, milestones, and victories.
Highlights from 2023
December 2023:
- GHF, in partnership with The Carter Center and the Georgia Parity Collaborative, hosted roundtables on mental health insurance coverage. These roundtables gathered input from diverse stakeholders to better understand the most effective ways to raise awareness about their rights to mental health care in Georgia.
November 2023:
- GHF joined Physicians for a National Health Program, New Georgia Project, Georgia Equality, elected officials, community members, and patients for a march in downtown Atlanta, pushing for the expansion of Medicaid.
October 2023:
- Cover Georgia and Doctors for America hosted an advocacy training on how physicians and medical students can be leaders in putting patients over politics on one of the most pressing health care issues for Georgia adults--Medicaid expansion.
September 2023:
- To celebrate our 15th year anniversary, GHF hosted an awards gala and celebration.
August 2023:
- GHF is awarded funding by Voices for Healthy Kids to build a cross-issue coalition focused on the health and equity impacts of "preemption."
June / July 2023:
- GHF heavily monitored early months of Georgia’s unwinding and executed outreach events to inform Georgia residents of how they can remain covered.
May 2023:
- GHF released Realizing the Promise of Olmstead: A housing study & policy recommendations and with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities hosted a virtual event to discuss opportunities to improve access to affordable, accessible housing for Georgians with IDD.
April 2023:
- GHF launched a Medicaid unwinding working group in partnership with Voices for Georgia's Children.
March 2023:
- GHF and The Carter Center co-hosted a training for insurers in Georgia about how to properly report their compliance with the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act. . GHF and The Carter Center also launched an awareness campaign about Georgians’ rights to coverage of mental health and addiction recovery services.
February 2023:
- GHF partnered with community groups from across the state to host a townhall about the upcoming Medicaid renewal process. GHF helped to present information about what Medicaid is, who Medicaid covers, and how Medicaid enrollees can stay covered during the Medicaid unwinding.
January 2023:
- GHF hosted our annual Health Care Unscrambled event. This year’s program included many intriguing discussions including:
- HCU’s featured discussion, Town & Country, examined the health care and public health experiences of rural and urban Georgians.
- This year, we were joined by an accomplished and bi-partisan panel of state legislators. These thoughtful leaders answered your questions about the health policy issues that you care about most and discuss the issues they see as most actionable in 2023.
- GHF provided public testimony on the state’s plan to transition from healthcare.gov to a state-based marketplace (SBM). Following testimony, GHF led efforts to educate advocates and legislators about the potential impacts and special considerations of moving to an SBM.
Download our 2023 Form 990
Highlights from 2022
December 2022:
- GHF released mini-documentaries from community members following two local hospital closures in Glenwood and Cuthbert, Georgia as part of its Georgia Can't Wait project. This project showcased how communities struggle when hospitals are allowed to fail, in part because of our state leaders' refusal to expand Medicaid.
November 2022:
- GHF kicked off a new project focused on strengthening Georgia's public health system. The project aims to lay the groundwork for successful and sustained public health advocacy in the years to come.
October 2022:
- GHF released What the health, Georgia?, a new illustrated resource about health care access and costs. The publication is meant for state and community leaders as they make decisions about public policy issues that impact the health of Georgians.
September 2022:
- GHF hosted its first in-person event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: GHF’s Friends & Family Reunion.
August 2022:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future hosted a FaceBook Live for breastfeeding awareness month, to discuss racial disparities in breastfeeding, highlight the current infant formula shortage and Georgia's response, and other aspects of infant and maternal health.
July 2022:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future hosted a two-part series Pride Month FaceBookLive discussion focused on strategies and policies that schools are using to create safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth and promote their health.
May 2022:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF) together with staff and board members created its new strategic plan highlighting a more modern GHF that emphasis's the importance of equity and justice. For the first time in 14 years, GHF changed its mission and vision statements to better encapsulate its work towards achieving better health equity for all Georgians. Read the new strategic plan here.
April 2022:
- GHF joined the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute for the Georgia Work Credit virtual rally. The event helped Georgians learn more about the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and why Georgia needs one.
- In partnership with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), GHF is conducting a survey of Georgians living with developmental disabilities and their caregivers. The survey helped GHF better understand the experiences and needs of Georgians with DD related to safe, affordable, accessible housing.
March 2022:
- Cover Georgia hosted a virtual advocacy day which featured a discussion with small business owners and rural community members about the ways that Medicaid expansion would support small businesses, benefit rural communities, and help rural women of color access important health services. Participants contacted their legislators, calling on them to support Medicaid expansion.
- GHF's health insurance navigator joined over 200 Southerners in the “ACA: Then & Now Anniversary” event hosted by the Region IV office of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The group celebrated 12 years of advancing health coverage and health equity through the Affordable Care Act.
February 2022:
- GHF joined Protect Our Care Georgia, Congressman Hank Johnson, and state Senator Nan Orrock to discuss the record number of Georgians who signed up for 2022 health coverage during the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period.
January 2022
- GHF hosted our annual Health Care Unscrambled event. This year’s program included many great discussions including:
- GHF was excited to invite Dr. Georges C. Benjamin to be the guest speaker at Health Care Unscrambled 2022! Participants heard Dr. Benjamin's perspectives on rebuilding our public health systems following COVID-19; how to protect public health from politicization; and public health’s role in the elimination of racial and geographic health disparities.
- HCU stage was joined by an accomplished and bi-partisan panel of state legislators. Together, they answered your questions about the health policy issues that you care about most and discussed the issues they see as most pressing in 2022
- GHF hosted a Georgia Voices for Medicaid training, where they discussed ways to increase awareness of Medicaid for Georgians with developmental disabilities. Participants heard from GHF's Knetta Adkins about who Medicaid covers, how it benefits the state, and how Georgians with a developmental disability and the people who support them can engage in advocacy in support of Medicaid.
Download our GHF 2022 Form 990
Highlights from 2021
November 2021:
- GHF and Cover Georgia partners mobilized Georgians (for the 5th time) to comment on Gov. Kemp’s 1332 private insurance proposal that would close healthcare.gov to Georgians shopping for affordable, quality health care and would not replace it. GHF submitted a comment letter opposing the plan because it would leave many Georgians under- and uninsured.
October 2021:
- GHF hosted the Coming Up Short policy forum to discuss the results of the Consumer Health Experience State Survey. Featured expert guests included: Amanda Hunt, Altarum Healthcare Value Hub; Erin Fuse Brown, Georgia State University Law School; Charles Owens - Georgia Southern University; and Allison Sesso, RIP Medical Debt.
- GHF re-launched its health insurance navigator services. Through a partnership with the Georgia Primary Care Association, GHF received funding to hire two health insurance navigators to help Georgia consumers understand their health insurance options, enroll in coverage, and use their insurance. One navigator is focused on 10 counties in and around Macon; the other will serve Georgia's diverse LGBTQ+ community.
September 2021:
- Together with Altarum, GHF released the results of the Consumer Health Experience State Survey, a representative, nonpartisan survey of Georgians’ experiences with a wide range of health system issues, including confidence using the health system, health care costs and financial burden, and Georgians’ views on policy fixes that might be needed.
August 2021:
- GHF staff were invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Georgia members of Congress, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and other community leaders. GHF discussed the health care concerns and challenges most affecting low-income Georgians and Georgians of color.
June 2021:
- GHF celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to again uphold the Affordable Care Act as the law of the land. The California v. Texas lawsuit was the third major case to make it to the Supreme Court that sought to invalidate the ACA and Georgia was a plaintiff in the case.
April 2021:
- During the 2021 state legislative session, GHF collaborated with advocacy partners to successfully support the passage of bills that make it easier for children to get enrolled and stay covered under Medicaid (HB 163); and eased prior authorization requirements so Georgians have better access to health services and prescription medicines (SB 80).
March 2021:
- GHF and Cover Georgia partners published full-page ads in six newspapers across Georgia about the newly passed incentives for Medicaid expansion included in the American Rescue Plan Act.
- With Georgia Watch and SOWEGA Rising, GHF kicked off a new project focused on unfair medical billing and debt collection practices in Southwest Georgia. The project aims to support community residents to work with hospitals to adopt more racially equitable policies and practices.
February 2021:
- GHF kicked off an advocacy campaign to urge public health officials to prioritize racial equity in their COVID-19 vaccination dissemination efforts. As a result, residents in all 18 of Georgia’s public health districts contacted their public health leaders about vaccine equity.
- GHF released a report about transportation as a social determinant of health. The report, Health Transportation Shortages: A Barrier to Care for Georgians, summarized a 159-county analysis of transportation shortage areas in Georgia and pointed to policy recommendations to address these shortages.
January 2021:
- GHF hosted our annual Health Care Unscrambled event. This year’s program included three sessions which are available for viewing virtually:
- Politics, Possibilities, & Policy: Discussed how federal and state health policy would look in the aftermath of the election, discussed the outlook for state budget and health-related legislation pieces during the 2021 legislative session
- In Their Own Words: Listened to Georgia consumers in a roundtable discussion surrounding how health is connected to work, education, transportation, school, etc.
- COVID-19 as a Change-Maker: How COVID-19 has continued to show disparities in health and equity, specifically regarding mental health, racial equity, and well-being, and how health advocates can bring about change
Download our 2021 Form 990
Highlights from 2020
December 2020:
- GHF hosted our second Legislating for a Healthier Georgia workshop to provide new legislators with valuable information and resources regarding health care.
October 2020:
- GHF partnered with community groups from across the state to host Georgia Voices for Medicaid trainings to discuss who Medicaid covers, how it benefits the state, and how you can become a health care advocate.
- GHF and Cover Georgia partners respond to the Trump administration's approval of Gov. Kemp's partial Medicaid expansion plan and the pending approval of the Governor's private insurance waiver plan.
September 2020:
- GHF submitted comments to the federal government again about Governor Kemp’s revised 1332 private insurance proposal, which stated the continued disapproval towards the Georgia Access model which threatened to leave Georgia families un- or under-insured.
- GHF's first-ever Give ‘Em Health trivia night is held virtually. Advocates, public health professionals, & health care providers joined the event to celebrate GHF’s efforts to help advance health care of all Georgians.
July 2020:
- GHF submits comments about Governor Kemp’s 1332 private insurance waiver application, specifically towards the Georgia Access model which threatened to leave Georgia families un- or under-insured.
June 2020:
- HB 888 is approved almost unanimously after five years of advocacy by GHF and partner group Georgia Watch.
May 2020:
- GHF publishes our Outnumbered analysis of all submitted comments during Georgia’s two comment periods for Governor Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage proposal. The report shows that 9 out of 10 Georgians prefer full Medicaid expansion as opposed to Governor Kemp's Medicaid plan.
- GHF captured the highlights of our 2019 work and the difference it makes for Georgia individuals and families in our first-ever annual report!
March 2020:
- GHF launches its COVID-19 response efforts to ensure that Georgians have access to up-to-date resources and information regarding COVID-19 policies and assistance.
January 2020:
- GHF leads the Cover Georgia coalition to mobilize comments about Governor Kemp's partial Medicaid expansion waiver.
- GHF hosts the annual Health Care Unscrambled legislative breakfast in Atlanta. Attendants heard from a bi-partisan panel of state policymakers about their plans for addressing health care related issues in the 2020 legislative season. Dr. Jamila Michener, author of Fragmented Democracy, joined us to discuss Medicaid, civic engagement, and the intersection of health equity and politics in Georgia. GHF also posthumously presented the Linda S. Lowe Advocacy award to Dawn Alford for her advocacy on behalf of Georgians with disabilities.
Download our 2020 990 form
Highlights from 2019
October 2019:
- GHF releases its fifth annual Getting Georgia Covered The annual publication presents data and stories about the experience of Georgia consumers in the state’s health insurance marketplace.
September 2019:
- Through the Georgians in the Driver's Seat initiative, GHF and the Arc Georgia launched a rider satisfaction survey to gather information in order to ensure NEMT works well for all Georgians who need it.
August 2019:
- GHF and Cover Georgia released three new videos to break down Governor Kemp's new health care plans and how they could affect health coverage in Georgia, when the changes will be announced and rolled out, and how you can protect your health care from any unwanted changes.
July 2019:
- GHF’s Executive Director is appointed to the Patients First Waiver Stakeholder Advisory Committee as a consumer representative.
- GHF, along with the Georgia Supportive Housing Association and Community Solutions, host the Housing is Health networking event, with the goal of building professional networks across the health and housing sectors in Georgia.
- GHF and Georgia Women (and Those Who Stand With Us)co-hosted the Health Care Salon: Georgia’s Patients First Act in Macon to teach residents about Medicaid and Georgia’s new Patients First Act and develop health advocacy skills that can be used to build a healthier community.
June 2019:
GHF, in partnership with The Arc Georgia and with support from Community Catalyst’s Center on Consumer Engagement in Health Innovations, launches the Georgians in the Driver’s Seat initiative. The effort aims to eliminate transportation as a barrier to health care for all Georgians, with a focus on people with disabilities.
May 2019:
- GHF supports the annual Children’s Mental Health Day at the Capitol event, helping to raise awareness about and advocate for the behavioral health needs of Georgia children and adolescents.
- GHF publishes two new resources to help young people, adults who care for children, and others find needed mental health and substance use recovery services.
April 2019:
GHF releases a video series to help Georgians build advocacy skills they can use to change policies that impact their health and health care. The video series is supported by the Georgia Voices for Medicaid grant from the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.
March 2019:
- GHF’s Executive Director testifies in front of the House Insurance committee about the risks of SB 106: Patients First Act when compared to the opportunity to expand Medicaid in Georgia.
- As part of the Healthy Housing coalition, GHF supports the successful passage of HB 346. The legislation prohibits retaliation by a landlord against a tenant for complaining to Code Enforcement about unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions like the presence of mold, radon, rodents, insect infestations, or lead.
February 2019:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2019 Georgia Legislative Session.
- GHF’s Executive Director testifies in front of the Senate Health & Human Services committee about the risks of SB 106: Patients First Act when compared to the opportunity to expand Medicaid in Georgia.
January 2019:
GHF holds the eighth annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event featuring Dr. David Blumenthal, President of the Commonwealth Fund, and a bi-partisan panel of legislators.
Download our 2019 Form 990
Highlights from 2018
December 2018:
- GHF co-hosts the inaugural Legislating for a Healthier Georgia: An Introduction to Consumer and Patient Health Policy Issues with Senator Kay Kirkpatrick and Representative Debbie Buckner. The event was organized by fifteen consumer and patient advocacy groups to help educate and inform newly elected state legislators about the foundations of Georgia’s health care and coverage systems from a consumer perspective.
- GHF’s Executive Director is appointed to Georgia’s Medical Care Advisory Committee as a consumer representative.
November 2018:
- GHF releases its fourth annual Getting Georgia Covered The annual publication presents data and stories about the experience of Georgia consumers in the state’s health insurance marketplace.
- GHF receives a General Operating Support grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta for 2018 and 2019.
October 2018:
Georgians for a Healthy Future publishes Medicaid Matters, a collection of stories from Georgia children and families about the importance of Medicaid in the state of Georgia. The story collection effort is made possible by a grant from the Georgia Health Foundation.
September 2018:
- GHF hosts the fourth annual Consumer Health Impact Awards to honor the work of outstanding health advocates and community leaders. This year’s honorees were:
Sylvia Caley, Linda Smith Lowe Health Advocacy Award
CaringWorks, Community Impact Award
Commissioner Frank Berry, Powerhouse Policymaker Award
Representative Bob Trammel, Powerhouse Policymaker Award
- GHF releases 10 Years, 10 Wins in celebration of its tenth anniversary. The booklet captures GHF’s biggest successes in its first ten years.
August 2018:
GHF kicks off its Consumer Health Advocates Guide to the 2018 elections blog series, which helps consumers and voters better understand the role that state elected officials play in their health care and coverage.
July 2018:
Georgians for a Healthy Future hosts its first Georgia Voices for Medicaid training in partnership with the Central Outreach & Advocacy Center in downtown Atlanta. The training would be offered in nine communities across Georgia in 2018 and 2019.
June 2018:
- GHF releases the My Health Resource Guide, which provides consumers with an understandable, easy-to-use tool to help them better understand the health and social services systems that impact their health and connect with needed resources. The guide also points consumers to social services that fulfill other basic needs like transportation, housing, food assistance, and legal support.
- GHF receives a Civic Engagement Fund grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to pilot a grassroots advocacy program called the Georgia Health Action Network.
May 2018:
- GHF adopts a new strategic plan ahead of the organization’s 10-year anniversary.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future hosted a policy forum titled Strong Foundations: Building a System of Care to Address the Behavioral Health Needs of Georgia Children. The forum explored the behavioral health needs of Georgia children and youth, Georgia’s behavioral health landscape, and successes and opportunities in the current system of care.
April 2018:
GHF and Step Up Savannah partner to host a health advocacy training for local community leaders. Advocates learned how they could participate and lead health advocacy efforts in their own community and received information about pressing health advocacy issues in Georgia.
February 2018:
GHF co-hosted Cover Georgia Day with the Cover Georgia coalition at the state capitol to ask state law makers to close Georgia’s coverage gap by extending health insurance to low-income Georgians.
January 2018:
- GHF holds the eighth annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event featuring Robin Rudowitz of the Kaiser Family Foundation, and a bi-partisan panel of legislators.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2018 Georgia Legislative Session.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future launched the Georgia Voices for Medicaid initiative with support from the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. The initiative aims to raise awareness among Georgians about the importance of Medicaid for people with disabilities and train Georgians with disabilities to use advocacy skills to win policy changes that help Medicaid better meet their needs.
Download our 2018 Form 990
Highlights from 2017
November 2017:
GHF's Executive Director testifies to the Georgia House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health & Life Insurance about the importance of coverage mandates for consumers.
October 2017:
GHF releases Getting Georgia Covered: What We Can Learn from Consumer and Assister Experiences in the Fourth Open Enrollment Period.
September 2017:
- GHF holds the third annual Consumer Health Impact Awards event to honor the work of outstanding health advocates and community leaders.
- GHF, Georgia Equality, and The Health Initiative co-release the Voices for Equity: How the experiences of transgender Georgians can inform the implementation of nondiscrimination provisions in the Affordable Care Act, a policy paper that described the discriminatory experiences of transgender Georgians and outlined policy recommendations for federal and state policymakers, health care systems and providers, and health advocates.
July 2017:
- GHF announces that its first Executive Director, Cindy Zeldin, will step down and Laura Colbert will assume the position.
- GHF and the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse are successful in our efforts to expand access to screening and counseling services through Medicaid for youth at risk of substance use disorders. The policy change takes place July 1, 2017 and is expected to result in the verbal screening of 145,000 Georgia youth annually when fully implemented.
Summer 2017:
- GHF travels across the state to raise awareness of federal threats to consumer health protections and health coverage.
- Through our outreach, thousands of Georgians called and emailed their Congressional leaders expressing their support for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
May 2017:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and local community groups co-host a community forum in Savannah on the current state and potential future of health policy in Georgia.
February 2017:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future forms the Protect Our Care Georgia coalition, an education and advocacy campaign boasting dozens of partners and focused on defending Georgia's Medicaid program and the Affordable Care Act from federal threats.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future partners with the Save My Care bus tour to bring 100 volunteers to the State Capitol to rally in defense of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
January 2017:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate's Guide to the 2017 Georgia Legislative Session.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our seventh annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event featuring Sue Sherry and Amanda Ptashkin of Community Catalyst, Liz Hagan of Families USA, Cindy Zeldin of Georgians for a Healthy Future, and a bipartisan panel of Georgia legislators.
Download our 2017 Form 990.
Highlights from 2016
November 2016:
- GHF releases Health Beyond Health Care, a policy paper spotlighting promising practices and advocacy opportunities in the housing, education, criminal justice reform, and transportation sectors that could positively impact health
- GHF convenes stakeholders and advocates from a range of sectors to identify opportunities to work together to address social determinants of health
October 2016:
GHF releases Collaborating For Consumers, a paper highlighting opportunities for advocates, enrollment assisters, and direct service providers to work together to improve coverage and access to care for the people they serve.
September 2016:
GHF holds the second annual Consumer Health Impact Awards event to honor the work of outstanding health advocates and community leaders.
August 2016:
- GHF releases Getting Georgia Covered: What We Can Learn From Consumer and Assister Experiences During the Third Open Enrollment Period
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GHF hosts a half-day summit focused on opportunities for collaboration between health care advocates, providers, policy experts, community-based nonprofit organizations, and enrollment assisters to better reach our shared goals of improving health care coverage and access to care in Georgia
Summer 2016:
- GHF participates in spring and summer festivals throughout the state to educate local communities on health care issues
- Through our outreach, hundreds of Georgians fill out postcards to their legislators expressing their support for increasing coverage
- GHF delivers postcards from constituents across the state to state legislators
April 2016:
Governor Deal signs into law SB 302, passed by the Legislature in March and championed by Senator P.K. Martin and a coalition of consumer health advocates led by Georgians for a Healthy Future. The legislation improves the accuracy and usability of provider directories.
February 2016:
Georgians for a Healthy Future releases companion policy briefs on network adequacy and provider directories at a policy forum held in conjunction with Georgia Watch focused on consumer health issues
January 2016:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate's Guide to the 2016 Georgia Legislative Session
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our sixth annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event, featuring Lynn Quincy of Consumers Union, Sue Polis of the Trust for America's Health, and a bipartisan panel of Georgia legislators
- Georgians for a Healthy Future launches a project on "health in all policies" with support from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation
Download our 2016 Form 990.
Highlights from 2015
November 2015:
Georgians for a Healthy Future, together with local and statewide partners, holds a roundtable discussion in Savannah about the coverage gap in Georgia.
October 2015:
- Open enrollment 3 begins, and Georgians for a Healthy Future launches GEAR: The Georgia Enrollment Assistance Resource Network to provide tools and resources to enrollment assisters in Georgia; GHF also releases an enrollment toolkit and a health insurance user's manual, twin publications that assisters can use to help educate and empower health care consumers.
- In conjunction with the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse, Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Somebody Finally Asked Me: A Preventive Approach to Preventing Youth Substance Use Disorders, a report featuring policy recommendations to help prevent substance use disorders among Georgia's youth.
September 2015:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds the first annual Consumer Health Impact Awards event to honor the work of outstanding health advocates and community leaders.
- In conjunction with the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Understanding Medicaid in Georgia and the Opportunity to Improve It, a publication full of charts and infographics about Medicaid in Georgia.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future and local partners hold a community forum about the coverage gap in Augusta.
July 2015:
Georgians for a Healthy Future's Executive Director is appointed as one of the non-legislative members to the Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act.
May 2015:
Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Getting Georgia Covered, a report highlighting best practices, lessons learned, and policy recommendations from the second open enrollment period. We also held a policy forum in May 2015 featuring the report findings and perspectives from enrollment stakeholders.
March 2015:
Advocates across the state gather with GHF at the Capitol to lobby their legislators to close the coverage gap, increase the tobacco tax, and increase Medicaid parity.
January 2015:
Georgians for a Healthy Future receives an MLK Community Service Award from Emory University’s School of Public Health and Goizueta School of Business.
Highlights from 2014
December 2014:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and coalition partners release a report on access to care in Georgia’s rural communities.
October 2014:
Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director receives an Empowerment Award from the Georgia League of Women Voters for her work in health advocacy.
September 2014:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases a series of fact sheets about health insurance coverage and access to care for children and families in Georgia.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future is part of a consortium of non-profit organizations awarded a health insurance navigator grant for Georgia.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases a series of fact sheets in conjunction with Georgia Equality on LGBT health in a post-ACA environment.
June 2014:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and Georgia Council on Substance Abuse launch a joint education and advocacy initiative to combat youth substance abuse in Georgia.
March 2014:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and our Cover Georgia coalition partners hold a rally on the steps of the State Capitol in support of closing the coverage gap by expanding Medicaid and bring volunteers to meet with their legislators about this important issue.
January 2014:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2014 Georgia Legislative Session.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our fourth annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event, featuring a keynote from Carolyn Ingram of the Center for Health Care Strategies and a bipartisan policymaker discussion with Georgia legislators.
Download our 2014 Form 990.
Highlights from 2013
August 2013:
Georgians for a Healthy Future is part of a 15-organization consortium awarded a federal health insurance navigator grant; subsequently, Georgians for a Healthy Future launched the Connecting Georgians to Coverage initiative
March 2013:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director is named to the board of directors of the Georgia Health Information Network.
- As part of a joint project with Georgia Equality, Georgians for a Healthy Future co-releases a pair of fact sheets focusing on how health reform will impact Georgia’s LGBT community.
February 2013:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and coalition partners bring 100 volunteers to the State Capitol to meet with their legislators about the importance of covering Georgia’s uninsured by expanding Medicaid.
January 2013:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2013 Georgia Legislative Session.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our third annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event, featuring a keynote presentation from Jonathan Cohn, one of the nation’s leading health care journalists, and a panel discussion with Georgia policymakers.
Download our 2013 Form 990.
Highlights from 2012
November 2012:
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) names Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director as a consumer representative to the NAIC for 2013.
October 2012:
Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director is invited to the White House to participate in a meeting with administration officials and other leaders in consumer health advocacy from across the country.
August 2012:
Georgians for a Healthy Future forms the Cover Georgia coalition, an education and advocacy campaign boasting dozens of partners and focused on supporting the Medicaid expansion in Georgia.
June 2012:
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and media from across the state ask Georgians for a Healthy Future to comment on what it means for Georgia health care consumers.
May 2012:
Governor Deal signs HB 1166 into law, championed by Representative Atwood and a coalition of children and health advocates, led by Georgians for a Healthy Future. The legislation restores child-only plans to the Georgia health insurance market.
March 2012:
Georgians for a Healthy Future holds a rally on the steps of the State Capitol in support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the same day as oral arguments are getting underway in the U.S. Supreme Court on the law’s constitutionality. The rally features advocates, health care providers, and policymakers. Participants delivered hundreds of petitions in support of the ACA to the Governor’s office.
February 2012:
The Georgia Department of Community Health forms a task force on children and families to provide input to the Department on its Medicaid redesign. Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Outreach & Advocacy Director is appointed to the task force.
January 2012:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future and Voices for Georgia’s Children jointly release Modernizing Medicaid and PeachCare: Promising Program Design Options for Georgia’s Children, highlighting best practices and making recommendations to strengthen Georgia’s Medicaid and PeachCare programs. January 2012:
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Information for Action: A Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2012 Georgia Legislative Session.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our second annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event, featuring a keynote presentation from renowned health policy expert Len Nichols and a panel discussion with Georgia policymakers.
Download our 2012 Form 990.
Highlights from 2011
December 2011:
Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director, a member of the Governor’s Health Insurance Exchange Advisory Committee, files a minority report disagreeing with the committee’s recommendation not to create a state-based health insurance exchange and instead recommending that Georgia move forward.
November 2011:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) only partially grants a waiver the Georgia Department of Insurance had requested to a provision of the Affordable Care Act after Georgians for a Healthy Future filed public comments with HHS on behalf of 17 Georgia patient and consumer organizations in opposition to the waiver. The decision preserved partial rebates for certain health care consumers with plans in the individual market.
- Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Advocacy Demystified: Tools and Strategies for Effective Consumer Health Advocacy.
September 2011:
Georgians for a Healthy Future and Georgia Watch jointly release Medical Loss Ratio Rules: Ensuring Value for Georgia’s Health Care Consumers and file public comments in support of the medical loss ratio rules, which help provide better information for consumers and accountability for insurance companies.
Summer/Fall 2011:
Georgians for a Healthy Future joins with several community partners on the Building a Healthy Georgia event series. We held educational forums in Savannah, Athens, Augusta, Butler, and Macon throughout the summer and fall of 2011.
August 2011:
Georgians for a Healthy Future releases Building Georgia’s Health Insurance Exchange: An Affordable Pathway to Health Insurance, which explains the health insurance exchange concept and makes recommendations for a consumer-friendly exchange. The report was widely distributed to and well-received by stakeholders, advocates, and policymakers.
June 2011:
Governor Deal appoints Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director to the Governor’s Health Insurance Exchange Advisory Committee.
April 2011:
HB 644 is introduced, the product of a collaboration between Georgians for a Healthy Future and a health legislation course at Georgia State University College of Law, for which we serve as a community partner. While the bill, which would set up a commission to implement the Affordable Care Act in Georgia, did not move, it served to educate policymakers on implementation of the new health law.
February 2011:
Georgians for a Healthy Future joins the Bump It Up a Buck coalition led by chronic disease patient advocacy groups including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association, among others, in support of a one dollar increase in the state’s cigarette tax.
Download our 2011 Form 990.
Highlights from 2010
December 2010:
Georgians for a Healthy Future holds our first annual Health Care Unscrambled policy breakfast event, featuring speakers with national and state-level expertise on health care issues.
Fall 2010:
Georgians for a Healthy Future releases a voter guide for the Office of State Insurance Commissioner that explains the critical role of this office in enforcing health insurance consumer protections and features responses from the candidates in their own words about how they would approach the office.
Summer 2010:
Georgians for a Healthy Future joins with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Voices for Georgia’s Children, and AARP on a series of educational forums and workshops across Georgia. The series, Health Care 2010 and Beyond, reached dozens of Georgians in Savannah, Athens, Rome, Butler, Macon, and Tifton.
Download our 2010 Form 990.
Highlights from 2009
October 2009:
Georgians for a Healthy Future publicly launches with an event at the state capitol!