New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced today he will expand Medicaid coverage in his state, becoming the eighth Republican governor to change course and embrace the expansion.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced last week his state will expand Medicaid coverage, joining Christie and New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez as… [Read more]

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… [Read more]

The Saporta Report features Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Director of Health Policy Timothy Sweeney’s op-ed on Medicaid expansion.
As published in the Saporta Report.
A rule of thumb holds that when something happens three times in short order, it’s a trend. So it’s fair to say that… [Read more]

GBPI Director of Health Policy Timothy Sweeney’s op-ed on Medicaid expansion is featured in the Saporta Report; read full article here.

Georgia’s Investment Does Not Keep Pace With Growing Needs
The governor’s proposed budget includes about as much general fund support for Georgia’s public health programs as it did in 2001. Meanwhile, Georgia’s population grew by 21.2 percent from 2000 to 2012, a rate nearly twice that of the country as… [Read more]

This week, two more Republican governors came out in support for taking advantage of new federal funding to ensure health coverage for more of their state’s residents. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder bring to six the number of GOP governors who have announced they will… [Read more]

Categories: Author, Blog, Health Care, Timothy Sweeney | Comments (1)

The Georgia hospital provider fee, or Medicaid assessment, expires on June 30, 2013.  The following answers to some frequently asked questions will help you understand the fee’s purpose and the ramifications if lawmakers allow it expire.  Download the fact sheet.

In this week’s State of the State address, Gov. Nathan Deal reiterated his opposition to using Medicaid to expand access to health coverage in Georgia, even as several other Republican governors recently expressed intentions to take advantage of the substantial new federal resources for their health care systems. To be… [Read more]

Gov. Nathan Deal announced today, in no uncertain terms, that he intends to leave half-a-million Georgians without health insurance, even though the state has an affordable way to get them coverage. By strongly reiterating his opposition to expanding Medicaid, he practically guaranteed that Georgia will remain stuck with a substandard… [Read more]

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute today joined doctors, hospitals, patients and other nonprofits to announce Cover Georgia, a new coalition of more than 40 organizations working together to urge state officials to bring health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Georgians and boost Georgia’s economy by expanding… [Read more]