The new plans are skimpier and sometimes financially insolvent so consumers who are considering enrolling in AHPs should be very cautious when shopping around to make the best choice for themselves and their families.

“It’s going to be tough for people who have health conditions they’re trying to manage,” Colbert said, “and especially tough for people who don’t get financial assistance but need comprehensive coverage.” – Laura Colbert, Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future

Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for Healthy Future said there are good provisions in the bill, but there are other things the bill didn’t address.

“HB 769 nibbles around the edges of the rural healthcare crisis,” Colbert said. “It leaves this really big gap in the middle that can really only be solved by infusing more dollars into the healthcare system, and that comes through health insurance.”

“We’re very concerned about them,” said Laura Colbert, the president of Georgians for a Healthy Future, which opposes all the bills. “If we’re really thinking about making a healthier population, a workforce that’s productive and has everything it needs to succeed, we should be restricting access to tobacco and other unhealthy products.”

One patient advocacy group, Georgians for a Healthy Future, has backed SB 359.

That’s a problem, said Laura Colbert, the director of the patient advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.

“Middle-income consumers with pre-existing conditions who want to remain in the marketplace where they’re protected are going to see big increases in premiums if a lot of healthy people leave to buy short-term plans,” she said.

Editorial: Laura Colbert of Georgians for a Healthy Future cites Georgia’s high uninsured rate, the opioid epidemic, and the financial struggles of rural hospitals in calling for the state to expand coverage. But she is opposed to “tethering Medicaid eligibility to employment.”

“We are very concerned about how this may impact Georgia’s Medicaid program,” said Laura Colbert, the executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future. “When we talk about cutting Medicaid at the state level, you are really talking about cutting health care to children, seniors and people with disabilities.”

Health care was a major topic in 2017 and will continue to be in 2018. We look at the final Obamacare enrollment numbers, the potential impact of the Republicans repealing the individual mandate, and get an outlook for 2018. A conversation with Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for A Healthy Future.

Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, an organization in Atlanta that advocates for public health insurance programs, said CHIP has traditionally had bipartisan support, which makes the lag in funding all the more concerning.

“It makes us nervous on a couple fronts,” she added.

First, it could be an indicator of Congress’ willingness to support other public health programs going forward, Colbert said.