Ga. Governor Proposes Small Medicaid Expansion With Work Requirements So Beneficiaries Have ‘Skin In The Game’

The Associated Press: Georgia Governor Unveils Medicaid Plan With Work Requirement
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a plan Monday to expand Medicaid to the state's poorest able-bodied adults, on the condition that they work, volunteer, receive job training or attend school. Under Kemp's proposal, which is more limited than other states, uninsured adults in Georgia who make no more than the federal poverty level would qualify for Medicaid assistance if they spent at least 80 hours a month working, volunteering, training or studying. They would also have to pay monthly premiums. (Thanawala and Nadler, 11/4)

The Hill: GOP Georgia Governor Proposes Limited Medicaid Expansion 
Kemp’s proposal, called Georgia Pathways, would cover adults who meet the work requirements and who are at or under 100 percent of the federal poverty level — about $12,490 a year for an individual. “Unlike Medicaid expansion, which will literally cost billions of dollars, Georgia Pathways will not bankrupt our state or raise taxes on our families or our businesses,” Kemp said at an event Monday morning. (Hellmann, 11/4)

Modern Healthcare: Georgia Unveils Medicaid Expansion Plan With Work Requirement
Georgians who qualify would also be required to pay a premium for coverage based on a sliding fee scale, which they could use to purchase healthcare necessities, including eyeglasses, prescription drugs and hygiene products, according to the announcement by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Enrollees would also be rewarded for healthy behaviors. (Livingston, 11/4)

CQ: Georgia Looks To Partially Expand Medicaid Coverage
“Unlike Medicaid expansion, which will worsen the doctor shortage and compromise access, Georgia Pathways will help put more Georgians on private insurance, giving more Georgians more choices for picking a provider,” said Kemp. “Medicaid expansion is a risky, one-size-fits-all approach that costs too much and fails to deliver.” The policy is sure to face opposition in the coming days. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a nonprofit policy analysis organization, has already blasted the plan. (Raman, 11/4)

Georgia Health News: Too Little? Kemp’s Proposal On Changing Medicaid Takes Flak
The Kemp administration estimates that there are 408,000 uninsured adults in that income category, but says that only about 50,000 would eventually be covered at any one time, based on the work/volunteer and other restrictions. That’s one-tenth of the estimated total of low-income Georgians who would receive coverage under Medicaid expansion – a step that 36 other states have adopted. (Miller, 11/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp’s Medicaid Plan Would Cover Thousands, But Not Most, Of Georgia's Poor
The policy he outlined Monday is designed to package with a separate set of proposals he introduced last week. One part seeks to lower insurance premiums by setting aside more than $300 million in public money that the government could pay to insurance firms to cover high-cost claims. The second piece would also shift $2.7 billion in subsidies from federal to state control to reduce costs to lower-income policyholders. (Hart and Bluestein, 11/4)

Modern Healthcare: Georgia Gambles On Insurance Market Revamp For Small Gains
In reforming its individual insurance market, Georgia wants to test Trump administration flexibility in unproven ways that some experts warn would put hundreds of thousands of people at risk for very little gain. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, on Monday released the state's draft 1332 waiver application, to seek approval from the federal government to make changes to its individual market that he says will lower premiums and increase choice for people who buy Affordable Care Act coverage there. (Livingston, 11/4)