HealthSTAT believes that Medicaid expansion is a good deal for Georgia because it will save lives, promote preventive health care, and preserve the safety net hospitals which serve millions of Georgians and which train Georgians' current and future health providers. We also believe that Medicaid expansion a good deal because it is fiscally responsible option that will ultimately save money.
This site will be updated regularly, so please check by often. Remember to click on "take action" above to help support Medicaid expansion in Georgia!
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According to a recent poll by the Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies, 61% of Georgians support Medicaid expansion. “These findings indicate that residents of these Southern states understand the benefits of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion for their communities, and want their elected officials to carefully study the merits of the law before expressing opposition,” said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center. “I hope leaders in these states will hear the will of the people when considering this historic opportunity to ensure that more people gain health insurance coverage.” To read the poll report in full, click the link above.
Click the link above to read a wonderful summary by Kim Anderson (CEO of Families First) that considers the “big picture” of why Medicaid expansion will help Georgia. She notes that it’s not just about getting people care - it’s also about keeping kids in school, helping adults be productive at work, keep hospitals open, creating jobs, and strengthening criminal justice reforms!
Meanwhile, Dr. Scot Bohlke of the Medical Association of Georgia [MAG] continues to voice concerns about the tax burden of the PPACA and low reimbursement rates for Medicaid. One wonders whether the fact that 15% of Georgians rely on free clinics is something we should brag about (and whether expansion of free clinics is a reasonable way to expand access to care) - clearly we need to keep up our involvement in MAG and get the discussion moving forward - but worth a read.
By Misty Williams - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Poor, uninsured military veterans and their spouses in Georgia won’t gain the same access to critical health coverage that hundreds of thousands of their peers will receive in states that plan to expand Medicaid.
More than 83,000 Georgia veterans and their spouses under age 65 don’t have health insurance, the fourth-largest such population among states nationwide, a recent study examining U.S. Census Bureau data shows. Nearly 40 percent of them — people like Dale Zipperer of Griffin, a Marine from the Vietnam era whose poor health prevents him from working — have incomes low enough to qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion set to begin in January under the Affordable Care Act.
Gov. Nathan Deal and Republican governors in some other states have steadfastly opposed the expansion, saying states can’t afford to broaden already overburdened Medicaid programs. Supporters say no coverage for large numbers of veterans — a group many Americans wrongly assume automatically receive federal health benefits — means larger premiums and higher hospital bills for Georgians with insurance.
“If these veterans remain uninsured, they are likely to have more unmet needs and more likely to delay medical care,” said Jennifer Haley, a research associate at the nonprofit Urban Institute.
While veterans are less likely to be uninsured than many Americans, 1.3 million under age 65 still lack coverage, an Urban Institute study shows.
Georgia — which the Department of Veteran Affairs said was home to 772,832 veterans in 2010 — is among the states with the largest numbers of uninsured veterans that have also rejected the Medicaid expansion, said Haley, a co-author of the study.
The expansion is a cornerstone of the federal health care law, which calls on states to broaden Medicaid to include people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $26,300 for a family of three. Critics of the law say that while low-income Americans need access to health care, it doesn’t make sense to expand a program that many states already cannot afford.
Deal and other Republican leaders have proposed turning Medicaid into a “block grant” program, which would limit federal dollars that states get to a lump sum but with fewer conditions on how they can be spent. But the Obama administration has opposed the idea.
Conservatives also question whether the federal government will be able keep its promise to cover the full cost of new enrollees the first three years and no less than 90 percent after that.
In Georgia, health officials estimate the expansion would add 650,000 people to the Medicaid rolls at a cost to taxpayers of $4.5 billion over a decade even with federal help. That’s on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars in shortfalls the program has faced in recent years.
“Governor Deal has said that as long as there is a significant cost to Georgia, we, as a state, cannot afford it,” a Deal spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, uninsured veterans such as Zipperer are out of luck. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema have left him unable to work. He joined the military at age 17 near the end of the Vietnam War, serving in the Reserve for a year and a half.
Zipperer receives a modest disability pension from the VA but has been unable to qualify for health benefits through that agency, Social Security or Medicaid. A local charity clinic provides him with steroids and other medications.
“Nobody wants to give you a job if you can’t walk halfway down the block without having to sit down because you’re sucking air,” he said.
Like Zipperer, not all veterans qualify for health care through the VA, which has a priority system based on service-related disabilities, income level and other factors. Others don’t live close enough to VA facilities to regularly use them.
“It’s not comprehensive health insurance for every single veteran,” said Tim Sweeney, a health care policy analyst with the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “Even if you are covered, there aren’t VA clinics in every town throughout Georgia.”
Expanding Medicaid would allow veterans who live far away from Georgia’s three VA medical centers in the Atlanta area, Augusta and Dublin and other facilities to go to a local doctor for regular checkups, Sweeney said.
In Georgia, an expansion would mean broadening coverage to include mostly uninsured single adults. The state’s program currently covers 1.7 million people, mostly women who are pregnant, children, the elderly and disabled. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the law last year, however, made the expansion optional for states.
Uninsured veterans and their spouses with income levels 100 percent to 138 percent of the poverty level will still be eligible for federal tax credits through new online insurance marketplaces expected to be running by January. Those below 100 percent of the poverty line — about 25,000 people in Georgia — will not be eligible.
Without an expansion, it will remain extremely difficult for Georgia veterans to qualify for Medicaid, said Linda Lowe, a consumer health advocate.
Unlike in some states that do cover more adults, Georgia veterans who aren’t pregnant, or in a nursing home or don’t have minor children and a very low income aren’t going to qualify, Lowe said.
“Georgia’s (Medicaid) program is pretty skimpy,” she said.
For Zipperer, no expansion means continuing to depend on charity clinics for care.
The veteran said he feels fortunate that he didn’t have to fight in the war but still believes he should receive health benefits for the time he served.
“People automatically think I get all of the VA benefits,” he said. “I wish I did.”
Number of uninsured Georgia veterans and spouses by income group
24,700 — The number below 100 percent of the federal poverty level
7,300 — The number between 100 percent and 138 percent* of the federal poverty level
51,700 — The number above 138 percent of the federal poverty level
*138 percent of the federal poverty level represents the cutoff for people who would gain health coverage under an expansion of Medicaid, or about $26,300 for a family of three.
Source: Urban Institute
From Kaiser Health News,information about the “private option” for Medicaid expansion. Key advantages: wider access to provider networks for patients, reduced care disruptions for those whose incomes fluctuate around Medicaid eligibility cutoffs, assurance that all Medicaid eligible patients (especially the chronically ill) are “caught” so they don’t drive up insurance premiums. Key disadvantages: Higher costs (especially for the federal government), difficulty or lack of clarify about potential copay or deductible cost-sharing for Medicaid patients.
Paul Krugman from the New York Times challenges the privatization of Medicaid in Florida and elsewhere.
This is all about spending taxpayer money, and the question is whether that money should be spent directly to help people or run through a set of private middlemen.
And despite some feeble claims to the contrary, privatizing Medicaid will end up requiring more, not less, government spending, because there’s overwhelming evidence that Medicaid is much cheaper than private insurance. Partly this reflects lower administrative costs, because Medicaid neither advertises nor spends money trying to avoid covering people. But a lot of it reflects the government’s bargaining power, its ability to prevent price gouging by hospitals, drug companies and other parts of the medical-industrial complex.
Meanwhile, the Florida Legislature moves forward with discussions about if - and how - to expand.
Reports today suggest that Arkansas is joining the “Expansion Is a Good Deal” crew.. kind of! New Medicaid beneficiaries will be covered through the new private health insurance exchanges. Details aren’t clear yet, and there are concerns that this solution will be more expensive AND less generous to beneficiaries… but other commentators are reserving judgment. Something to keep our eyes on!
Updated analysis out from the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute:
State officials claim Medicaid expansion is unaffordable by overstating the real cost of covering newly eligible Georgians. State estimates claim it will cost $4.5 billion to expand Medicaid. But the official estimate includes more than $2 billion of future costs that are not caused by Medicaid expansion. Removing cost increases that occur with our without expansion drops the ten-year state share to $2.1 billion, or barely a 1 percent increase in Georgia Medicaid spending over the next decade.
But that’s not all. Since new state revenue resulting from Medicaid expansion is expected to total at least $1.8 billion over the same time period, the net costs of expansion for the state will only be about $35 million per year.
Click the link for more information!
For a single adult, 133% of the poverty level is under $16,000 a year. These people are consistently among those who need help the most — men and women who have suffered trauma in their lives, live with mental illness, rely on New Jersey’s emergency rooms for primary health care needs, or those citizens who lack insurance or access to treatment.
Expanding Medicaid will ensure New Jersey taxpayers will see their dollars maximized. Federal funding will cover 100% of the costs of this expansion for the first three years and then leveling to 90% in 2020.
Let me be clear, refusing these federal dollars does not mean that they won’t be spent. It just means that they will be used to expand health care access in New York, Connecticut, Ohio or somewhere else. Accepting these federal resources will provide health insurance to tens of thousands of low-income New Jerseyans, help keep our hospitals financially healthy and actually save New Jersey taxpayers money.
Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ), February 26, 2013
In an announcement that makes him the 8th GOP Governor to support Medicaid expansion!
As of 5pm tonight, the “Expansion is a Good Deal” petition has 1,225 supporters. The overwhelming majority of signatories - 97% - are Georgia residents.
Explore the map above to take a closer look at the places our Georgian supporters call home. It might be a different pattern than you’d expect! Only 35% of them hail from our state’s largest incorporated cities (Atlanta, Columbus, Augusta, Savannah, or Athens). As you zoom in closer, you can see markers in many small towns across the state.
This map is a work in progress, and we’ll do our best to keep it updated as the signatures continue to roll in. Please do your part, and continue to share the petition with others so we can fill it in even more!
[Side note for petition signers: rest assured, the only data that was entered to create this map were zip codes!]
In the past few days, we’ve surpassed our initial goal of 1000 signatures on our petition to Governor Deal! If you haven’t yet.. .make sure to SIGN and SHARE!
A day after the announcement by Rick Scott (R-FL) that Florida would move forward with Medicaid expansion, three Republicans debate Medicaid Expansion in the AJC. Jack Bernard asks, “The bottom line is crystal clear: The financial positives of expanding Medicaid in Georgia far exceed the negatives. Will Governor Deal make the decision based on the facts, or will he let right-wing ideology get in the way?”
Click the link above to read more.
Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) was one of the first governors last summer to announce that his state would opt out of Medicaid expansion. But according to a report by the Miami Herald, he will soon become the 7th GOP governor to change course and endorse the Medicaid expansion!
His decision will add 1.3 million Floridians to the law’s insurance expansion.
Governor Deal: everyone else thinks expansion is a GOOD DEAL! Isn’t it time for you to change course?
Click the link above to read more.
A coalition of consumer advocates, health care providers, nonprofits and other groups urged Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday to reconsider extending health care coverage to 650,000 poor Georgians by expanding the state’s Medicaid program.
Deal has remained steadfast in his refusal to broaden Medicaid, saying the state can’t afford to expand the ailing government health program as it currently operates. Medicaid already faces a nearly $400 million budget hole.
But supporters say Georgia can’t afford to forgo the large infusion of federal funds that will go to states moving forward with expansion. In Georgia, that could amount to $40 billion over the next decade.
