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In The News
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.
2021
“Expanding Medicaid to Georgia workers is a powerful way to thank them for the work they did to keep our state’s economy moving over the last year,” said Laura Colbert, executive director of the nonprofit Georgians for a Healthy Future.
Laura Colbert, executive director of the group Georgians for a Healthy Future, said it’s important to hold the companies accountable, and for the state to be ‘’creative, forward-looking, and progressive when it comes to Medicaid payment and policies.”
“DCH has made meaningful strides in the last several years that give me reason to think it can rise to the occasion and embody all three of these qualities if given support from the governor and legislature,” Colbert said.
It’s important for consumers who enrolled before April 1 to return to healthcare.gov, the call center or their insurance counselor to get the extra financial assistance, Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future said. The enhanced subsidies won’t automatically be applied for these people, she said.
“The high enrollment numbers demonstrate that the Affordable Care Act is an invaluable safety net for consumers during volatile economic times,’’ Colbert said. “It also seems to signal that some consumers need more than a six-week window to navigate the enrollment process, and that promotion, marketing, and consumer assistance during enrollment opportunities really do impact how many people get covered.”
It’s important for consumers who enrolled before April 1 to return to healthcare.gov, the call center or their insurance counselor to get the extra financial assistance, said Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. The enhanced subsidies won’t automatically be applied for these people, she said.
“The high enrollment numbers demonstrate that the Affordable Care Act is an invaluable safety net for consumers during volatile economic times,’’ Colbert said. “It also seems to signal that some consumers need more than a six-week window to navigate the enrollment process, and that promotion, marketing, and consumer assistance during enrollment opportunities really do impact how many people get covered.”
Laura Colbert, who is the executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future and a spokesperson for the coalition, said the advertising push was meant to drive awareness that “the landscape has pretty meaningfully shifted” when it comes to Medicaid expansion.
“There are so many meaningful things that our state could do with those dollars that we’re hopeful that state leaders have a hard time passing it up,” Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, said. Part of that Medicaid expansion drive is to attract voters.
“The financial incentive is adding some pressure and definitely making it more appealing,” Colbert said.
The subsidy boost could be especially helpful for people in southwest Georgia, an area that has some of the highest premiums in the nation, said Laura Colbert of the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“Every consumer who shops for coverage will get a better deal than they were able to get even a few weeks ago,’’ she said. “Consumers with higher incomes who previously received no financial help will see their premiums drop so that they are no longer paying more than 8.5 percent of their income.”
The subsidy boost could be especially helpful for people in southwest Georgia, an area that has some of the highest premiums in the nation, said Laura Colbert of the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“Every consumer who shops for coverage will get a better deal than they were able to get even a few weeks ago,’’ she said. “Consumers with higher incomes who previously received no financial help will see their premiums drop so that they are no longer paying more than 8.5% of their income.”
“The Kemp waiver plan, as outlined now, is much less ambitious. It would cost $75 million for the first year, and cover just 31,000 low-income adults, according to the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. A standard expansion would give Medicaid eligibility to 480,000 to 600,000 people in the state, said Laura Colbert, the group’s executive director.”