Peach Pulse, September 2015

NEW PUBLICATIONS

A Chart Book for Understanding Medicaid in Georgia and the Opportunity to Improve It

Georgians for a Healthy Future and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute are proud to release our joint publication: Understanding Medicaid in Georgia and the Opportunity to Improve It. Inside you will find infographics, new data, and compelling charts that simplify the complex issue of Medicaid in Georgia.

Part one explains who gets Medicaid in Georgia, how Medicaid protects Georgians during economic downturns, how Medicaid controls costs in the state, and more.

Part two outlines Georgia’s opportunity to close the coverage gap. Here you’ll find out what Georgia’s health insurance coverage gap is, how we can use Medicaid to close it, and who stands to benefit detailed by job sector, demographics, and veteran status.

Part three details economic and social benefits of closing the coverage gap. Why is closing the coverage gap is a good deal for Georgia and the state’s economy? What are the savings other states realize by closing the gap? How does coverage affect a person’s financial and physical health?

A limited number of hard copies of this new publication are available. Please let us know if you or your organization would like one. We are also available to provide presentations to your members about Medicaid in Georgia and the opportunity to improve it by closing the coverage gap. Please contact Laura Colbert if you’re interested in a community presentation.

Download the chartbook!

Many Working Parents and Families in Georgia Would Benefit from Extending Medicaid Coverage

We know that closing Georgia’s coverage gap would help adults who are uninsured. But how does it affect families and children in our state? GHF and Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families have teamed up to bring you new research to answer that question. Key findings include:

Nearly three-in-ten Georgians potentially eligible for coverage should Georgia choose to close the coverage gap are parents with dependent children residing in their home.
Of those parents that could benefit from expanded Medicaid eligibility, nearly two-thirds (57 percent) are employed. Nearly half of all uninsured parents (46 percent) work in restaurants, retail, or professional service occupations.

Children enrolled in Medicaid are more likely to receive well-child care and are significantly less likely to have unmet or delayed needs for medical care, dental care, and prescription drug use due to cost.

UPCOMING EVENTS

GEAR up for Open Enrollment

Webinar
October 19
2:00 – 3:00 PM

Please join us for a webinar to introduce the new Georgia Enrollment Assistance Resource Network-GEAR! GEAR is the new central hub of resources for Georgia’s enrollment assisters and stakeholders who work to educate people on their health and health coverage options. GEAR is full of handouts, interactive consumer tools, important updates, and other materials that will help enrollment assisters and community organizations better educate Georgians on health insurance enrollment, health insurance literacy, and more.

Want to learn more about GEAR and how you and/or your organization can benefit? Join us on October 19th for a webinar where we will demonstrate how to access GEAR and review some of the materials that can be found there. We will also get your feedback about other resources you would like to see included on GEAR in the future. GEAR is built to help more Georgians connect to health coverage and we want it to work for you!

Policy Luncheon on Preventing Youth Substance Use

October 22, 11:30 AM – 1:45 PM

Loudermilk Center, Ann Cramer Room

Please join us for a policy forum to take a deep dive into promising, cost-effective best practices to reduce youth substance abuse in Georgia. This lunchtime event will be held just prior to the second meeting of the Senate Study Committee on Preventing Youth Substance Use Disorders and will feature opening remarks by Senator Renee Unterman, the chair of the study committee and the Senate Health and Human Services committee. The forum will also include a panel discussion featuring:

Dr. Paul Seale, Navicent Health

Dr. Gabe Kuperminc, Georgia State University

Leigh Colburn, Director, Graduate Marietta Student Success Center

Bertrand Brown, Georgia Council on Substance Abuse

After the panelists’ presentations there will be time for question and answer. This is a free event, but we ask that you RSVP so that we may order enough food.

RSVP Now!

PAST EVENTS

Local Spotlight on Augusta

In Augusta last week, GHF met with local providers, advocates, and consumers to talk about Augusta’s coverage gap. More than a presentation, the event was a constructive conversation about finding a solution and making Augusta healthier. It was clear to us that people in Augusta are dedicated to helping their neighbors and closing the coverage gap.

The event was previewed and then written up in the Augusta Chronicle.

Event Write Up

“The state of Georgia will eventually expand its Medicaid program “because the numbers are so compelling,” a health care economist for Georgia State University said Thursday at a policy forum in Augusta.”

Event Preview

“Medicaid already covers 1.9 million people in Georgia, about 64 percent of whom are children, despite “very restrictive” limits on who can qualify, particularly for adults, according to a report being released today by Zeldin’s group and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.”

GHF’s First Annual Consumer Health Impact Awards

What a night! GHF honored Georgia’s most inspiring health advocates, community partners, and policymakers at our first annual Consumer Health Impact Awards dinner in September. If you missed the event and want to see what all the fuss was about, check our our Storify or the photos on Facebook.

Legislative Study Committee Insights

Study committees are the framework for the legislative session. It’s where legislators, experts, and advocates roll up their sleeves and study the issues facing Georgians. Below you’ll find two windows into the study committee process. The first is a deep dive into the Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act (SR 561) by GHF Executive Director Cindy Zeldin who serves on the committee and is very involved in addressing network adequacy. The second is a breakdown by GHF Policy Analyst Meredith Gonsahn on the health-related committees meeting over the next several weeks.

Study Committee on the Consumer Provider and Protection Act

Peach Pulse Archive 2015

Peach Pulse, September 2015

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