Budget and Taxes Health Justice Laura Harker Reports Overview: 2022 Fiscal Year Budget for the Department of Community Health February 5, 2021 / February 5, 2021 by Laura Harker Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a 2022 budget of $3.48 billion in state general funds for the Department of Community Health. General funds for the agency increased by $430 million from the 2021 fiscal year, mostly to offset the expected loss of federal Medicaid matching funds and account for growth in Medicaid expenses. Federal […] Read more » Department of Community Health health-care medicaid patients first act PeachCare
GBPI In The News Kemp Rolls Out Medicaid Plans October 18, 2020 / October 23, 2020 by Alex Welch Federal health officials have given formal approval to Gov. Brian Kemp’s request for a waiver to expand health coverage options for low-income Georgians. Laura Harker of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, which supports Medicaid expansion, points out that the Georgia waiver will not receive the 90% federal match that an expansion would provide. The […] Read more » health medicaid Medicaid Expansion waivers
GBPI In The News Challenges Loom After Federal Approval of Kemp Health Plan October 16, 2020 / October 23, 2020 by Alex Welch Gov. Brian Kemp held a signing ceremony at the Georgia Capitol to mark the federal approval of a plan he says will help put insurance cards in the hands of residents who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for subsidies on the federal exchange. The $218 million-per year plan […] Read more » health medicaid Medicaid Expansion waivers
Budget Primer Health Justice Laura Harker Georgia Health Care Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2021 August 10, 2020 / August 10, 2020 by Laura Harker Georgia’s 2021 Health Care Budget Three state agencies are primarily responsible for health care services in Georgia: the Departments of Community Health, Public Health and Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. State funding for these three agencies totals $5.2 billion for 2021, or about 20 percent of state general spending. General Fund appropriations for these agencies […] Read more » Budget Budget Cuts health medicaid
GBPI In The News Audit: GA Medicaid oversight is uncoordinated, risks overpaying, fraud July 21, 2020 / July 23, 2020 by Alex Welch Georgia’s faulty oversight of private Medicaid management contractors has left the state’s Medicaid program vulnerable to overpaying for health care and to fraud, a state auditor’s report has found. Over seven years from 2013 to 2019, a total of $41 million in claims the contractors paid out for Medicaid “were not subject to adequate oversight […] Read more » Budget COVID-19 health insurance health-care medicaid
Blog Budget and Taxes Criminal Legal System Reform Health Justice Jennifer Owens Standing with Black Lives June 3, 2020 / June 3, 2020 by Jennifer Owens Amid the ongoing protests and demonstrations against police brutality, frustration over the deep and long-standing inequities in our societies and systems is on full display. The sin of white supremacy and inadequate, often racist actions by our nation, our state, generations before me, my generation and me drives a fiery desire for absolution. But standing […] Read more » Budget Cuts criminal justice maternal mortality medicaid racial inequities second chance employment
GBPI In The News Georgia’s Stressed Health Care ‘Safety Net’ Could Sway Voters May 11, 2020 / June 26, 2020 by Caitlin Highland Karen Kinsell is the only doctor in southwest Georgia’s Clay County. A third of her patients are uninsured. […] Laura Harker, a health policy analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, says about 20% of Georgia adults are uninsured and the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid has left the state without a safety net […] Read more » COVID-19 Heath Care Laura Harker medicaid
Coronavirus Health Justice Laura Harker People Powered Prosperity Reports Georgia’s COVID-19 Public Health Response Must Include Support for Stable, Quality Housing May 7, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Laura Harker | 1 Comment on Georgia’s COVID-19 Public Health Response Must Include Support for Stable, Quality Housing Download PDF The COVID-19 pandemic is making it even more clear how interconnected health is with other areas of life such as economic security, education, food security and housing stability. Investments in health care systems and public health infrastructure have been an important part of the pandemic response. But we are also seeing how non-health […] Read more » American Health Care Act coronavirus covid health-care homelessness housing medicaid
Blog Coronavirus Health Justice Laura Harker People Powered Prosperity Fast Facts on Medicaid Expansion April 23, 2020 / July 28, 2020 by Laura Harker | 2 Comments on Fast Facts on Medicaid Expansion Key Takeaways The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting Black Georgians, who are more likely to contract and pass away from the virus and work in jobs facing layoffs and furloughs, and will likely push communities of color deeper into poverty, and is decimating the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Georgians. Immediate Medicaid expansion would […] Read more » coronavirus COVID-19 health medicaid
Coronavirus Fact Sheets Health Justice Laura Harker Learning the Basics People Powered Prosperity Georgia Seeks New Medicaid Changes in Response to COVID-19 April 2, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Laura Harker Download PDF On March 28, 2020, the Georgia Department of Community Health submitted four plans to the federal government allowing the state to make temporary changes to Medicaid and PeachCare in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This downloadable, one-page fact sheet explains these key changes. Read more » coronavirus COVID-19 medicaid waivers
