Atlanta, GA—An important reform of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act takes effect July 1 when Georgians who have been without health coverage for at least six months and who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing health conditions will be given access to affordable, quality coverage. They will receive it through a new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Washington, D.C. – Approximately 1,805,000 people under the age of 65—more than one in five (21.6 percent) of Georgia’s non-elderly population—have a diagnosed pre-existing condition that could lead to a denial of coverage in the individual health insurance market, according to a report released last week by the consumer health organizations Families USA and Georgians for a Healthy Future.

ATLANTA, OCTOBER 22, 2009 – Today at the Georgia State Capitol, health care advocates, providers, lawmakers, and consumers met to announce the launch of Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF), a new statewide advocacy organization that intends to build and mobilize a unified voice for health care consumers in Georgia.