NEWS & MEDIA
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
Special enrollment period now open for ACA, could benefit thousands of Georgians without health care
Laura Colbert, the executive director of a non-partisan healthcare organization called Georgians for a Healthy Future, told Wilfon that many Georgians will benefit.
“In Georgia there are about a million and a half uninsured folks, and at least half of those are eligible but un-enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. So we know there are plenty of folks out there who could really benefit from this open enrollment time,” Colbert said.
If it becomes law, the “express lane” bill would allow an estimated 60,000 additional Medicaid-eligible Georgia children to enroll in the joint state-federal health coverage program, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“It’s a largely positive step forward,” said Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. “But there’s a risk that Gov. Kemp and state leaders walk away and leave low-income Georgians with nothing.”
Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future said she was surprised at how speedily the Biden administration pulled back approval for Kemp’s overhaul. But she cautioned that much depends on how the governor and federal officials respond next.
“It’s a largely positive step forward, but there’s a risk that Gov. Kemp and state leaders walk away and leave low-income Georgians with nothing,” said Colbert, whose group says full Medicaid expansion is the morally and economically responsible thing to do for the state.
“If work requirements are removed from the governor’s plan, many more Georgians could gain coverage,’’ said Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. “This would be a positive move, although other barriers to coverage are still in place and the plan would still cover fewer people than a full Medicaid expansion.’’
Studies show kids who get Medicaid go further in school and are healthier and more successful financially as adults compared with those who have no insurance or inconsistent coverage, Laura Colbert of the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future told the House panel.
Laura Colbert, with Georgians For a Healthy Future, said one clue that parity is not working is how often behavioral health is not covered by Georgia insurance plans. She spoke about mental health parity during a Wednesday town hall meeting hosted by the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“Georgia families are forced to navigate a really confusing insurance system in the middle of what might be a substance use crisis or a mental health crisis,” Colbert said. “You may be denied coverage for substance use services because the insurance company says they’re not ‘medically necessary.'”
“As we’ve seen with many, many big policy changes, this is a lot more about politics than the actual data and policy, which the vast majority of Georgians and Americans agree on,” said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, who added that she expected a lawsuit challenging the state’s work requirement waiver to be filed soon.
The job losses during the pandemic have created a big coverage deficit, said Laura Colbert of the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.
“It is really encouraging to see the Biden administration reopen up the ACA marketplace so people have another chance to get enrolled,’’ she said. “The decision to promote and market the reopening is particularly important because many Georgians who are eligible for ACA coverage don’t know that they qualify or that they may be eligible for financial help to lower their costs.”