Georgians for a Healthy Future is frequently cited in news articles about health care issues, ensuring the consumer perspective is heard. Read news stories featuring Georgians for a Healthy Future’s perspective below.
IT HAS BEEN SIX MONTHS since Donald Trump and congressional Republicans refused to renew temporary, enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, causing premiums to jump for more than 20 million Americans. And at first, it seemed like things might not work out so badly, all things considered.
In January, the administration reported that initial signups were down by just 1.5 million. That would represent a relatively modest fall in a program that serves more than ten times that number, even if it was the largest year-to-year decline on record….“What we’re hearing from our [enrollment counselors] is that a lot of these people are working multiple jobs, didn’t have health insurance until a few years ago when the extra credits got them into the ACA marketplaces, and now they’re going back to being uninsured” Whitney Griggs, director of health policy at Georgians for a Healthy Future, told me. “We have also heard about folks who are trying to pay that first premium and just could not keep up that cadence, and dropping their coverage.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s final budget signing ceremony on May 9th resulted in some major changes to state spending.
Among the governor’s vetoes are about $80 million in state general funds, appropriated by lawmakers to Georgia’s primary healthcare agencies. The state department responsible for family and child welfare was also hit by cuts totaling about $15.2 million.
Total vetoes across all state departments, not just health, stand at about $300 million. …It’s not uncommon for the governor to issue budget vetoes. What is surprising, says Whitney Griggs with the consumer health advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future, is the extent to which certain programs, such as mental health support and healthcare reimbursement rates, were slashed.
No Georgia official is more directly tied to affordability than the state’s commissioner of insurance. And that job is on the ballot this year, starting with Tuesday’s primary.
The commissioner’s main job is to make sure Georgia insurance companies don’t charge policyholders too much for their coverage like health and auto policies. And that after the consumer pays their premiums, the companies cover what they’re supposed to. …“This race may not receive the same attention as contests for Governor or U.S. Senate, but its consequences are deeply personal and financial for Georgia families,” Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, said in a written statement. “The next Insurance Commissioner will help shape how much Georgians pay for coverage, what protections they can rely on when care is denied, and whether consumers have a strong advocate when insurers fall short.”
Healthcare affordability remains a top concern for Georgia voters as they navigate a crowded ballot this primary election season, but as statewide Democratic candidates rally behind Medicaid expansion, campaign promises could be complicated by federal legislation passed last year.
According to a KFF poll, 72% of Democrats, 63% of independents and 47% of Republicans said the cost of healthcare will have a major impact on which party’s candidate they vote for later this year….
Laura Colbert, executive director for Georgians for a Healthy Future, a patient advocacy group, said that even with the incoming federal changes, expanding Medicaid would still be beneficial for increasing access to care, and it would be “one of the most fiscally responsible actions” the state can take.
“It also supports our health system and creates jobs and produces economic activity, like tax revenue and the like, and so it’s just a phenomenally effective policy solution if you’re looking to help people’s day-to-day lives get easier and boost the economy,” Colbert said.
For Newnan-based insurance agent Kandice Bell, rising Affordable Care Act monthly premiums meant more difficult conversations with returning clients during open enrollment for this year.
“I had so many phone calls,” Bell said. “Even now, I still get phone calls about the premium hikes.”
ACA premiums are up for most people with a marketplace plan since the end of last year, when Congress didn’t extend the enhanced premium tax credits that had subsidized premiums. Now, 80% of returning enrollees are paying more out of pocket for coverage, according to KFF Health News…
“The early data that’s come out is pretty consistent with our expectations,” said Laura Colbert, executive director for the nonprofit healthcare policy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“We would see a lot of folks deciding that they can’t both afford these premiums and their other everyday living costs that are also increasing.”
Georgia’s lack of full Medicaid expansion has led more people with incomes just above the federal poverty limit to enroll for a private marketplace plan, which until this year, would have been discounted, Colbert said.
“Because the subsidies expired, they no longer have a $0 monthly premium. It’s going to be a modest premium because of their income, but for folks making $16,000 a year, even a $15 monthly premium can be too much. And so, I expect that a big chunk of our coverage losses in Georgia will be those folks who are lowest income in the marketplace,” she said.
“Georgia will likely see a greater drop in our enrollment than in other states because we have such a large proportion of lower-income consumers in the marketplace.”
On the April 29 edition: Georgia reacts to today’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act; Fire officials near Georgia’s coast respond to dozens of illegal burn piles; And there are new tools to make sure parity laws are being followed.
Peter Biello: Parity laws require health insurers to cover medically necessary physical and mental health care equally. GPB’s Sofi Gratas has more on new tools that can help consumers navigate how well their own insurers are doing.
Sofi Gratas: Insurers are required by state and federal law to report how well they’re enforcing parity. But in Georgia, many are falling short on vital metrics, including that reporting. Whitney Griggs with Georgians for a Healthy Future says that’s partially what’s behind the “F” grades they’re assigning to some insurers in their new public parity dashboard.
Whitney Griggs: What they don’t show you is the experience of the consumer trying to get that mental health care. Until we have that information, we’ll never really know how consumers are faring with the mental health parity law.
Sofi Gratas: The dashboard covers Medicaid and commercial marketplace plans. Over a dozen Georgia insurers were fined millions this year by the state for parity violations. A bill that would have increased fines for such violations did not pass the Legislature. For GPB News, I’m Sofi Gratas.
Georgians can now see how their health insurance plans compare when it comes to mental health coverage and compliance with the state’s 2022 Mental Health Parity Act.
Georgia’s landmark parity law, also known as HB 1013, requires insurers to cover mental health and substance-use on par with coverage for physical and surgical needs. And, it brought Georgia into step with federal parity requirements under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
But Georgia insurers’ compliance has so far been slow, state insurance officials and patient advocates say…But Georgia insurers’ compliance has so far been slow, state insurance officials and patient advocates say.
Now, the nonprofit advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future has launched a new dashboard showing the progress — or lack thereof — of more than two dozen plans operating across the state.
The dashboard ranks 17 private individual and small-group health plans, and nine state Department of Community Health-overseen Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids, and related programs. It doesn’t list most large, employer-provided plans.
Rural hospitals across the Southeast are facing mounting financial and staffing pressures that experts warn could leave more small towns without nearby medical care.
The National Rural Health Association reports 43% of rural hospitals in Florida are vulnerable to closure. In Georgia, more than a third of rural hospitals are in danger, according to experts who say some communities are already feeling the impact of health care economics that work against small towns…In Georgia, nine rural hospitals have closed since 2010, according to Georgians for a Healthy Future. Florida Voices for Care estimates as many as eight closures in that same time frame, leaving communities without nearby care.
ATLANTA — Georgia’s landmark mental health parity law was hailed as a “gold standard” when it passed in 2022, requiring insurers to treat mental health care the same as physical health care. But advocates say years later, enforcement—not legislation—is the real problem.
Earlier this year, Insurance Commissioner John King announced $25 million in fines against insurers accused of violating the law. The penalties were meant to signal that companies denying or limiting mental health coverage would be held accountable…
Advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future is working to create a new dashboard to track compliance. Until then, consumers who believe they’ve been denied equal access to mental health care can file complaints with the insurance commissioner’s office or the Department of Community Health.