Georgia House leaders signal that in 2024, Medicaid expansion will cease to be implemented.
A top lieutenant to Republican House Speaker Jon Burns introduced a bill on Tuesday that would establish a Comprehensive Health Care Commission. This commission might pave the way for expanded health coverage in the future, but not this year.
Advocates for Medicaid expansion had already come to the conclusion that the prospects were slipping for 2024, since more than half of the current legislative session had passed with no proposal from Rep. Butch Parrish, the Swainsboro Republican Burns designated to spearhead the talks.
The Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, was widely perceived to be against the extension of health care coverage when he decided to sue the federal government last month in an attempt to prolong the life of his Georgia Pathways program. Coverage is provided by Georgia Pathways to healthy people making up to the federal poverty level, which is $14,580 for an individual or $24,860 for a family of three. To be eligible, however, a person must record 80 hours per month of employment, education, rehabilitation, or volunteer activity.
From July 1 to mid-December, just 2,350 people signed up for the programโa significant decrease from the 100,000 people the Kemp administration had anticipated the initiative may serve. Kemp fought to get it extended until 2028, but it was set to expire in 2025.
Ten states still refuse to accept Medicaid applicants with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line, despite North Carolina starting to offer the program to uninsured individuals on December 1. According to projections made by the health research company KFF, expanding Medicaid may provide coverage to approximately 430,000 uninsured persons in Georgia.
Democratic House Minority Leader James Beverly, a native of Macon, stated, “The governor’s getting entrenched.” “Pathways is the way, and by suing the federal government, 500,000 Georgians will be without health coverage for an additional year. And it is tragic.
Burns, a Republican from Newington, stated in a statement that, while he still “supports” Pathways wholeheartedly, Georgia should look into other choices in the event that Kemp’s legal case is unsuccessful. Burns has shown support for adopting Arkansas’s strategy of using Medicaid funds to purchase private insurance for its citizens, which might increase payments to physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.
“We also want to take the time to gather the facts, hear from policy experts and stakeholders, and craft the best policy possible to support our low-income, uninsured population across the state, which will help patients and providers alike,” Burns stated in reference to the possibility that Pathways may expire in 2025.
Lawmakers were urged by supporters to continue their work on expansion this year.
According to Julie Vojtech, government relations director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, “there are people being diagnosed with cancer today who can’t wait for treatment.” “It’s important we keep all options open and on the table during the 2024 legislative session.”
In an effort to support Medicaid expansion, the group brought scores of cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones to the state Capitol earlier this month. They urged lawmakers to continue working toward expansion this year.
The expectation among supporters was that the state Senate would consider Medicaid expansion in return for lowering or doing away with the need for hospital and health service permits. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the Republican in charge of Georgia’s Senate, has made that his top goal, but the House has refused to budge on certificate of need regulations.
Parrish’s bill suggests gradually lowering the requirements for certificates of necessity. Most notably, it eliminates financial limits on the amount of money that already-existing hospitals can spend on renovated or new facilities or equipmentโas long as they don’t provide additional services. Hospitals can now relocate up to 5 miles (8 kilometers) away without obtaining a new permit, instead of the previous 3 miles, as it also relaxes regulations around the addition of new beds.
If the new hospitals agree to provide a certain amount of charity care, join the statewide trauma system, provide “comprehensive behavioral health services,” and agree to act as teaching hospitals for medical students, the bill would permit the construction of new hospitals in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents.
One of the main issues that sparked a dispute between Burns and Jones last year was the idea to construct a new hospital in Butts County, where Jones resides. The current hospital there is against the proposal.
Parrish’s proposal, however, would still need a state permit in order to provide new services, which many hospitals argue is necessary to keep new operators from taking advantage of the most lucrative services.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Jones expressed his satisfaction that the House had taken up the fight to lower costs for Georgian families and boost competition in the health care system.