Nov 18, 2022 “In the best-case scenario, some uninsured Georgians would be insured for some time,” said Laura Colbert, executive director of consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. “It’s going to be a huge headache for the state and people who are enrolling or trying to enroll.” Georgia’s cost per participant for the work-requirement program is expected to be at least three times higher than a regular Medicaid extension, Colbert said. The administrative obstacles to the Kemp work plan would be significant, say consumer advocates. Full-time workers, people with mental illnesses or substance use disorders, and people who can’t work but haven’t yet qualified for disability insurance would have a hard time qualifying, Colbert said. CMS’s decision not to appeal “was a little surprising,” Colbert said, but added that another unfavorable court ruling could pose a risk to other states’ Medicaid programs because it paves the way for other job requirements.

Nov 18, 2022

“The Governor’s Pathways program makes it unnecessarily difficult for low-income people to gain health coverage. The program requires workers and students to repeatedly prove they are working or studying, rather than making it simpler for them to go to the doctor and fill prescriptions,” said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, an advocacy group.

“Because of the program’s complications, only a fraction of low-income uninsured adults will get health insurance. Medicaid expansion would be a simpler and more cost-effective solution for Georgia and uninsured Georgians,” Colbert said.

Oct 17, 2022

Oct 6, 2022

Sep 28, 2022

For 10 years, Georgia state leaders have blocked access to affordable health coverage via Medicaid to almost 600,000 Georgians, Knetta Adkins with Georgians for a Healthy Future said last month.

Sep 12, 2022

Reimbursements for that medical care for patients who can’t afford to pay would go up significantly if the state fully expands Medicaid, said Laura Colbert, who heads the policy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.

“Many more of their patients would be insured and therefore that would reduce the losses that they see at the hospitals,” she said.

 

Sep 2, 2022

Full Medicaid expansion would cover at least 75,000 more people in the two counties and funnel millions of dollars into supporting safety net hospitals, said Laura Colbert, executive director of the health policy organization Georgians for a Healthy Future.

“Grady does amazing work but there are only so many doctors and so many patient rooms and so many resources that they have, and they need support in providing care for this community as well,” Colbert said.

Sep 1, 2022

Georgians for a Healthy Future says AMC serves predominantly low-income and patients of color, including many who are uninsured.

Aug 29, 2022

The reinsurance program does deserve some credit for the increased number of carriers and lower premiums, but there are also other factors at play, says Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, which is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

“The reinsurance program certainly helps bring down premiums. I don’t think they can take full credit for it,” Colbert said.

Aug 26, 2022

For 10 years, Georgia state leaders have continued to block access to affordable health coverage via Medicaid to almost 600,000 Georgians, Knetta Adkins with Georgians for a Healthy Future said Thursday.

“And in that time, we have seen uninsured Georgia adults, parents and low-wage workers left disappointed over their inability to meaningfully participate in the Georgia health care system,” she said.