Georgia can blaze own path to expand Medicaid coverage

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  features Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Director of Health Policy Timothy Sweeney’s op-ed on Medicaid expansion in Georgia.

Rather than continuing to flatly say “No” to more than half a million Georgians who could gain health insurance through expansion of Medicaid, Gov. Nathan Deal should look to his counterparts in other states who are trying creative ways to tailor the expansion to their needs.

A variety of models are finding a home in places as diverse as Arkansas, Oregon, California and Iowa, showing states are finding ways to customize Medicaid coverage under the expansion. Some of the details are still in the works, like the model developing in Arkansas that will allow the state to use Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance plans for 250,000 people. The trails blazed by other states suggest a path forward for Georgia.

The decision should be an easy one: Say “Yes” to billions in new federal funds that will extend health insurance to more than 500,000 uninsured adults in Georgia.

Doing nothing means Georgia will continue to have one of the biggest concentrations of people without health insurance in the country. The other choice would allow Georgia to move toward important health care goals.

Hospitals, doctors, nurses and other health care providers will be better able to care for patients if more of them have health insurance and can routinely get the medical care they need, rather than leaving conditions untreated or turning to expensive emergency care.

But expansion is not just good for Georgia’s health care system and its patients. It can deliver a needed jolt to the state economy. For every $1 we invest to cover newly-eligible Georgians, the state’s economy gets a $30 boost, thanks to new federal money that follows the state commitment. Fully implementing the expansion will help create more than 56,000 new jobs, according to an analysis by Georgia State University.

The governor often says a key reason not to join the growing number of states choosing to expand Medicaid coverage is the partial cost the state would have to assume starting in 2017. He says the state can’t afford the projected $2.5 billion expense spread over a decade, roughly a 1 percent increase in Georgia’s overall budget. In reality, much of the new costs will likely be canceled out by decreases in current state expenses, such as spending for mental health services that would instead be covered through Medicaid.

A new study from RAND Corp. estimates Georgia and 13 other states whose governors oppose expansion will collectively spend $1 billion more on uncompensated care in 2016 than they would if they expand Medicaid.

Expanding Medicaid is critical to everyone in Georgia. It will increase the supply of doctors and nurses throughout the state, giving hundreds of thousands of Georgians the opportunity to live healthier lives. And it is Georgia’s best option for getting a handle on health care spending for years to come.