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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.
2020
In a statement, Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, noted that the final public comment period for the Georgia Access proposal closed with 1,800 comments. This was a record number of comments for this type of proposal.
“The overwhelming majority of those comments were in opposition and came not only from Georgians but from a wide array of respected organizations, like the American Medical Association and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United Way,” stated Colbert. “Despite this, Georgia has just earned one of the fastest approvals for the proposal.”
The waivers could also result in a net increase of uninsured Georgians during the first year, said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“When both of these proposals are rolled out, it is likely that more Georgians will lose health coverage than gain it in the first year,” she said. “When health insurance is more valuable than ever for the access to care and financial protections that it provides to families, state leaders would leave more Georgians uninsured.”
“I would dispute the characterization that this is a step forward,” said Laura Colbert, executive director at Georgians for a Healthy Future, a lobbying group that seeks better health care access. “I think that Georgia can do much better, and can do it more cost effectively.”
Critics worry about the state abandoning the current website. “Separating Georgia from healthcare.gov puts people with pre-existing conditions, rural Georgians, and people of color at unnecessary risk of enrolling in substandard health insurance or becoming uninsured altogether,” said Laura Colbert of the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“We’re going to see a lot of people churning in and out of the program, so people may get coverage and then immediately lose that, so that is not good for continuum of care,” said Colbert with Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“I would dispute the characterization that this is a step forward,” said Laura Colbert, executive director at Georgians for a Healthy Future, a lobbying group that seeks better health care access. “I think that Georgia can do much better, and can do it more cost effectively.”
“These annual rebates were built into the Affordable Care Act as one way to hold health insurers accountable to a minimum standard for covering the health needs of consumers and their families,’’ Laura Colbert of the consumer group Georgians for a Healthy Future said Thursday.
“For Georgians who regularly feel like they are at the mercy of their insurer, a rebate is a modest but welcome reminder that their health is supposed to be their insurer’s top priority.’’
The transition from one system to another is going to be difficult, even for consumers who know it’s happening. We know that not all consumers will know that this change is taking place. So some of those consumers are going to need to catch up. Some of them may not get through the process at all. It’s much more likely that consumers are going to become uninsured in this process rather than having more consumers brought into the private insurance system.
The advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future, which supports the exchange, said the plan leaves those with mental or behavioral health issues “exposed and in danger” at a time when the pandemic and opioid abuse are increasing the need for coverage.
“Insurers and web-brokers, who would be in charge of helping Georgians find health insurance, have developed a track record of steering consumers toward substandard plans that expose them to catastrophic costs if they get sick…most substandard plans do not cover mental health services, and many do not offer substance use or prescription drug benefits,” the group said.