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Georgians for a Healthy Future has long been a leader in fighting health disparities, advocating for expanded coverage, and ensuring affordable access to preventive services.

What does that really mean?

It means fighting for the 240,000 Georgians currently stuck in the coverage gap. It means standing alongside parents, caregivers, and senior citizens when their health coverage is threatened. It means making sure lawmakers hear from communities that too often get left out of the conversation.

Georgia’s Medicaid health insurance system covers many different Georgians, including those with disabilities. The coverage provided to people with disabilities offers much-needed support to individuals and families that might otherwise fall short of addressing their health care needs.

While Medicaid has been a lifeline for some, a full expansion of Medicaid would bring additional funding to the state and strengthen existing programs. For every dollar Georgia would spend to close the coverage gap, Georgia would receive up to $9 in federal funding. The recently passed American Rescue Plan added to the financial incentives available under Medicaid expansion; under the new federal law, Georgia could attract $1.3-$2 Billion to cover the costs of expansion and offset state spending on other priorities.

This additional funding could benefit Georgians who need Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid waivers. HCBS waivers help people with disabilities get the health and support services they need so they can live independently in their communities, rather than in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Currently, more than 6000 Georgians sit on a waiting list for one of these waivers.  The additional funding that Georgia could earn under Medicaid expansion could reduce or possibly eliminate the HCBS waiver waiting list altogether.

Below is a first-hand account from a Georgia mother, whose 9-year-old daughter is covered by Medicaid. Her daughter was diagnosed with Ataxic Cerebral Palsy at 18 months. Since her diagnosis, the two have navigated challenging care and coverage issues. Their experiences highlight a number of the policy and advocacy issues that consumers contact GHF about regularly: Medicaid, Medicaid expansion, difficulty finding health care providers, Georgia’s public health system.

Legislative Update: Week 6

In this week’s update:

• Action alerts on childhood lead exposure and prior authorization bills
• Legislation on housing and Medicaid expansion!
• Advocacy events this week: housing & Asian Americans
• GHF’s got you covered this session!

Legislative Update: Week 10

The 2020 legislative session has resumed

Yesterday Georgia’s General Assembly resumed the 2020 legislative session after being suspended in March due to safety concerns over COVID-19. Legislators returned to the Capitol on Monday to pick up their work on the state budget and key pieces of legislation. The last ten days of legislative session will be dedicated primarily to the FY 2021 state budget to which Governor Kemp has proposed 11% cuts. Read the State Budget Cuts Are Not Inevitable section below to find out how you can take action for a state budget that supports the health and wellness of Georgians.

Senate committee approves surprise billing legislation

Critical surprise billing legislation heads toward finish line

Earlier this year, companion bills (SB 359 and HB 888) were introduced in the House and Senate to ban surprise out-of-network medical billing (also called surprise billing) in emergency and non-emergency situations. In a rare Sunday meeting, HB 888 was approved by the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. The Senate Rules Committee acted quickly today and approved the bill for a vote on the Senate floor tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17th. Please call your state senator today and encourage their support for this important piece of legislation!

New revenue can improve health in Georgia

State budget cuts are not inevitable

Because of the economic slow-down caused by COVID-19, Georgia’s revenues from sales taxes and other sources have dropped substantially. This has prompted the Governor to call for an 11% cut in state spending. Deep cuts to already-skeletal services and programs will disproportionately harm communities of color and rural communities, weaken Georgia’s health care system as it continues to respond to the pandemic, and curb the state’s ability to recover economically. GHF was one of 37 groups to send a letter to Governor Kemp and state lawmakers last week calling on them to raise new revenues rather than slash spending. New sources of revenue that can also improve health for Georgians include: 

• Raising Georgia’s tobacco tax — an increase of $1 per pack would bring in $400 million each year and reduce smoking rates in Georgia
• Expanding Medicaid— in addition to providing health coverage to 500,000 Georgians, Georgia would draw down $3 billion in federal funds each year
• Re-claiming the health insurance assessment—by collecting the revenue from this existing tax, Georgia could bring in $360 million each year to make health insurance more affordable for consumers and small businesses

Ask Governor Kemp and your state lawmakers today to avert budget cuts and improve health in Georgia by raising state revenue!  

Georgia Can’t Wait!

Thank you for a successful Virtual Day of Action!

GHF and Cover Georgia welcomed legislators back on to work yesterday by urging them to take action to expand Medicaid. During yesterday’s virtual Day of Action, participants like you sent 500 messages to Governor Kemp and your legislators encouraging them to act immediately to protect the health and financial well-being of 560,000 Georgians by closing Georgia’s coverage gap! Thank you for your advocacy!

If you didn’t get a chance to contact your lawmakers yesterday, call or email today and ask them to act now to close Georgia’s coverage gap!

GHF has you covered

Stay up-to-date with the legislative session and COVID-19

GHF will be monitoring legislative activity on a number of critical consumer health care topics. Along with our weekly legislative updates and timely analysis of bills, we have the tools you need to stay in touch with health policy under the Gold Dome.

• Sign up for the Georgia Health Action Network (GHAN) to receive action alerts that let you know when there are opportunities for advocacy and action
• Track health-related legislation
• GHF’s 2019-2020 legislative priorities

GHF is dedicated to helping you understand and navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have the information you need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.

• COVID-19 Policy priorities for a healthy Georgia — updated weekly
• Your health coverage, care, and well-being — updated weekl
• Mental health & addiction recovery in the time of COVID-19 — updated as new information becomes available
• NEW! Health insurance options for Georgians during COVID-19

Philip is a 57 year old part-time roofer who resides in Fort Gaines, Georgia, a rural community in the southwest region of the state.

Philip suffered a knee injury along with a herniated disc in his back while repairing a roof. Because he is uninsured he has been repeatedly refused medical care because of his inability to pay. Despite making financial sacrifices to see several doctors and specialists, he has been unable to receive adequate help and get the treatment he needs. Philip says that if he had health coverage he would find the right specialist, get an MRI, and have his back fixed so he would no longer be in severe pain every day.

For the time being, Philip is able to see Dr. Karen Kinsell, the last practicing physician in Clay County. Dr. Kinsell is a volunteer physician who provides medical care to approximately 3,000 patients in a small office building that once served as a Tastee Freeze stand. Dr. Kinsell has advised Philip to stop roofing in order to ease the pain in his back but roofing is currently his family’s only income and Philip says there are no other viable job options for him in the area.

Philip believes access to health care is important and that significant changes need to be made so more people can access care. “Fix the issue, fix the problem, health insurance isn’t affordable for low-income people trying to work. Help us.”

Like Philip, 360,000 low-income Georgians, many of whom are uninsured, live in small towns and rural areas across the state. These areas have the most at stake in the debate over whether or not to close Georgia’s health insurance coverage gap. For rural Georgia residents like Philip, health coverage would open doors to the physicians and other health services that they need to stay employed or get back to work. For rural communities like Fort Gaines, more residents with health coverage could attract another primary care physician to the area.

Right now, Georgia’s policy makers are drafting two health care “waivers”. One of the waivers could be used to extend coverage to all low-income adults, including Philip and his southwest Georgia neighbors. Or state leaders could continue to ignore the needs of low-income, rural Georgians with a more limited plan.

The details of these waivers will be announced in the coming weeks and state leaders must offer online and in-person opportunities to hear public feedback. GHF will keep you up-to-date about what the waivers will mean for Georgians like you and Philip, and help you weigh in during the public comment periods!

Your story is powerful! Stories help to put a human face to health care issues in Georgia. When you share your story, you help others understand the issue, its impact on Georgia, and why it’s important.

Your health care story is valuable because the reader may be your neighbor, friend, someone in your congregation, or your legislator. It may inspire others to share their stories or to become advocates. It is an opportunity for individuals who receive Medicaid or fall into the coverage gap, their family members, their physicians and concerned Georgia citizens to show that there are real people with real needs who will be impacted by the health policy decisions made by Congress and Georgia’s state leaders.

Share your story here!

In March 2019, Georgia lawmakers approved SB 106, the Patients First Act. The new law allows Georgia to use two kinds of health care waivers to make changes to health coverage in the state. These waiver plans could affect you, your friends, family, neighbors, and Georgians all across the state and the way you access and pay for health care.

(Waivers allow a state to set aside or “waive” certain requirements imposed by the federal government and try new models of providing health coverage and care.)

The state has hired Deloitte as a consultant to work with state leaders to develop the waiver plans. Georgia’s decision-makers have proposed an aggressive timeline and aim to finalize the waiver plans by the end of 2019.

Two types of waiver plans

Two types of plans are being developed by state leaders: an 1115 waiver and a 1332 waiver. An 1115 waiver allows Georgia to make changes to the state’s Medicaid program. Medicaid is the state’s health insurance program that covers kids, some low-income parents, seniors, and people with disabilities, and pregnant women. SB 106 limits the 1115 waiver to cover people making up to the poverty line (about $12,000 a year for an individual or $26,000 for a family of four). Medicaid expansion, which GHF has advocated for, would extend public coverage to people with incomes just above the poverty line (138% of the federal poverty line.) A successful way to use an 1115 waiver would be to cover everyone under the poverty line and exclude barriers to coverage such as burdensome paperwork requirements, confusing cost-sharing, or counterproductive lock-out periods.

A 1332 waiver allows the state to make changes to private insurance and the health insurance marketplace. About 450,000 Georgians buy their health coverage through the marketplace. Most of these Georgians receive federal tax credits to cover some or all of their premium costs. (Another 827,600 of Georgians are eligible for private coverage and financial help to buy it but have not yet enrolled.) A successful way to use a 1332 waiver is to establish a “reinsurance program” to reduce premium costs. This waiver should also ensure all plans continue to cover the essential health benefits (like prescription drugs) and maintain protections for people with preexisting conditions.

You can weigh in!

Now is the time to ensure that Georgia gets a plan that will provide comprehensive coverage to as many people as possible. Thousands of Georgians across the state could gain health care coverage through the Patients First proposals. While positive intentions have been expressed by Georgia’s elected officials about the forthcoming waivers, none has yet committed to ensuring all Georgians have a pathway to comprehensive, affordable coverage.

For every 1115 and 1332 waiver that the state wants to pursue, Georgia’s policymakers must seek input from the public. Because there are required state and federal public comment periods for each waiver proposal, there will be at least four public comment periods (a state and federal period for an 1115 waiver and a state and federal period for a 1332 waiver). These are your chances to help shape and influence health care in Georgia!

GHF and our Cover Georgia partners will let you know when the public comment periods begin and end and we will provide an easy way for you to have your say. Make a plan to submit comments during every public comment period so that state leaders know how their ideas will impact you and your family! Your story can help make a difference for thousands of Georgians and can support positive changes in health care coverage.

To learn more, visit coverga.org and download our new Happening Now fact sheet! Follow #CoverGA on FaceBook and Twitter for the most current updates!

Legislative Update: Week 10

Risky health care waiver bill passed by House committee

Last Wednesday, the House Special Committee on Access to Quality Health Care held a hearing on SB 106, the Patients First Act. GHF’s Executive Director, Laura Colbert and several Cover Georgia coalition members testified and emphasized the need for changes in the bill. Read Laura’s full testimony here.

As we have previously reported, the legislation allows for an 1115 waiver to extend Medicaid coverage to some adults making up to 100% of the federal poverty level ($12,100 annually for an individual). GHF and its partners requested that the income cap be lifted to 138% FPL so that it would cover more Georgians at a lower cost to the state. As currently written, the bill would leave out thousands of Georgians who earn just above the poverty line and who would be covered under a traditional Medicaid expansion or a broader 1115 waiver. SB 106 also allows the state to make potentially dramatic changes to private health insurance in Georgia through 1332 waivers with little accountability. The bill now sits in the House Rules committee and is expected to receive a vote on the House floor sometime next week.

There is still time for the House to make changes to SB 106 so that it covers more people and costs less. Read more about SB 106 CoverGA.org and then contact your state representative to let them know that we need to amend this bill to cover every eligible Georgian!

Behavioral health commission passes in both chambers

Georgia Mental Health Reform and Innovation Commission passed by Senate

The Senate passed an amended version of HB 514 on Thursday. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Tanner, would create the Georgia Mental Health Reform and Innovation Commission which would work to analyze and offer improvements to the state’s mental health system. Changes to the bill in the Senate included additions to the make-up of the Commission so that it includes a professional who specializes in substance abuse and addiction, and a representative of a community service board to serve as a nonvoting member of the 23-member panel. The bill will now return to the House to receive an “Agree” on the changes made in the Senate and will then go to the Governor’s desk to be signed.

HIV prevention & treatment bills move forward in the Senate

Two HIV-related bills move forward in Senate committee

Two significant pieces of HIV-related legislation passed the Senate Health and Human Services committee last week. HB 217, which would decriminalize the act of working or volunteering for a syringe services program and HB 290, which would would establish a pilot program to provide preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug assistance or services to persons at risk of being infected with HIV will now go to the Senate Rules Committee to await a vote by the full Senate. A third bill, HB 158 would improve Medicaid coverage but has not yet been taken up by the Senate HHS committee. Georgia currently leads the U.S. in the rate of new HIV cases diagnosed each year and all three bills would contribute to the slowing of the epidemic by preventing new infections and improving care for people currently living with the condition. (For more details on all three pieces of legislation, see our February 26th legislative update).

What happened last week

Recess legislation passes in Senate committee

The Senate Education and Youth committee voted to pass HB 83 last Thursday. This bill would require a daily 30-minute recess for all students in grades K-5 unless they have already had a physical education class or structured activity time in the day. This bill now sits in the Senate Rules committee and awaits a vote on the Senate floor. To learn more about the impact of recess on children’s physical and mental health, read this fact sheet from Voices for Georgia’s Children.

Healthy housing legislation makes progress in Senate

Georgians for a Healthy Future is a member of the Healthy Housing Georgia coalition because evidence shows the strong and direct influence housing has on a person’s health. The coalition supports HB 346 which passed with amendments by the Senate Judiciary committee last week. This bill would prohibit retaliation by a landlord against a tenant for complaining to Code Enforcement about unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions like the presence of mold, radon, rodents, insect infestations, or lead. Georgia is the only state in the country that does not protect tenants against unsafe and uninhabitable housing conditions with a “warranty of habitability.” The Senate Rules committee will now decide when the legislation may receive a vote on the Senate floor. (For more details on the legislation, see our March 5th legislative update.)

GHF has you covered

Stay up-to-date with the legislative session

GHF will be monitoring legislative activity on a number of critical consumer health care topics. Along with our weekly legislative updates and timely analysis of bills, we have the tools you need to stay in touch with health policy under the Gold Dome.

• Sign up for the Georgia Health Action Network (GHAN) to receive action alerts that let you know when there are opportunities for advocacy and action
• Track health-related legislation
• Updated for 2019: GHF’s annual Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide. (Contact Michelle Conde at mconde@healthyfuturega.org for a printed copy.)