Legislation authorizing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to pursue a Medicaid waiver was recently approved by a state House panel, potentially giving Georgia more flexibility to use federal funding but also capping who’s covered by an expansion. GBPI’s Laura Harker said the bill should be amended to extend Medicaid benefits fully to levels called for under the ACA.
“Capping the income limit at 100 percent of federal poverty could leave the state paying more while seeing a smaller drop in our state’s already high uninsured rate” compared to states that have fully expanded Medicaid, Harker said. She added that she feared the legislation as drafted would “create a new kind of coverage gap.”
