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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
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.”
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.
“Medicaid expansion has always been the moral and cost-effective choice for Georgia,’’ she said. The new incentive package, she said, “just amplifies that choice.’’
Pending approval from the federal government, the automatic enrollment would allow an estimated 60,000 Medicaid-eligible children who receive food stamps to also join the joint state-federal health program, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“Medical debt burdens Georgians significantly, stemming in part from the state’s large uninsured population,” Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, said. “Southwest Georgia, in particular, has some of the highest health costs in the country due primarily to the lack of competition among providers and insurers.”
Laura Colbert of the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future said the recent enrollees could include people who lost jobs and those who didn’t know about the fall enrollment period.
“A lot of people may not know that they were eligible for subsidies,” she added.