Georgia

Can a Medicaid plan that requires work succeed? First year of Georgia experiment is not promising

Published

1 year ago

July 14, 2024

Can a Medicaid plan that requires work succeed? First year of Georgia experiment is not promising

ATLANTA (AP) — By now, Georgia officials expected their new Medicaid plan, the only one in the nation with a work requirement, to provide health insurance to 25,000 low-income residents and possibly tens of thousands more.

But a year since its launch, Pathways to Coverage has roughly 4,300 members, much lower than what state officials projected and a tiny fraction of the roughly half-million state residents who could be covered if Georgia, like 40 other states, agreed to a full Medicaid expansion.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has presented Pathways as a compromise that would add people to Medicaid while also helping them transition off it. Blaming the Biden administration for delaying the program’s start, Kemp’s office says it’s redoubling efforts to sign people up.

Health and public policy experts believe the enrollment numbers, dismal even compared to what Kemp’s office had said Pathways could achieve, reflect a fundamental flaw: The work requirement is just too burdensome.

“It’s clear that the Georgia Pathways experiment is a huge failure,” said Leo Cuello, a research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.

Pathways requires all recipients to show at least 80 hours of work monthly, volunteer activity, schooling or vocational rehabilitation. It also limits coverage to able-bodied adults earning no more than the federal poverty line, which is $15,060 for a single person and $31,200 for a family of four.

Cuello noted the program makes no exceptions for people who are caring for children or other family, lack transportation, suffer from drug addiction or face a myriad other barriers to employment. Then there are people with informal jobs that make documenting their hours impossible.

In rural Clay County in southwest Georgia, Dr. Karen Kinsell said many of her patients are too sick to work. Over the last year, Kinsell has suggested Pathways to about 30 patients who might meets its requirements, but none have signed up.

“I think the general idea is it would be too much work and too complicated for little benefit,” she said.

Just going online each month to submit proof of work can be a significant obstacle, said Harry Heiman, a health policy professor at Georgia State University.

“For low-income people who are worried about staying housed and putting food on the table, one more thing to do is often one thing too many,” he said.

The program’s poor showing so far may have implications beyond Georgia. Republicans in other states in recent months also have proposed requiring work to get Medicaid. In Mississippi, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in February cited Georgia’s Pathways program as a model.

A second term for former President Donald Trump would significantly boost the prospects for such programs. The Trump administration approved Medicaid work requirement plans in 13 states, only to have the Biden administration revoke those waivers in 2021. Pathways survived after a court fight.

Georgia launched the program on July 1, 2023 with little fanfare, and public health experts say they have seen scant effort to promote it or sign people up.

The launch coincided with a federally mandated review of the eligibility of all 2.7 million Medicaid recipients in the state following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, another challenging task for Georgia officials.

Still, they did not scale-back their enrollment expectations. Days before the launch, then-Georgia Department of Community Health Commissioner Caylee Noggle told The Associated Press that Pathways could cover up to 100,000 people in year one. The 25,000 estimate had been in the state’s 2019 application for Pathways.

Garrison Douglas, a spokesman for Kemp, said in a statement that Pathways had received “extraordinary interest from thousands of low income, able-bodied Georgians,” and the state was “still fighting to reclaim the time stolen” from it by the Biden administration.

The program was supposed to launch in 2021, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services objected to the work requirement that February and later revoked it. Georgia sued and a federal judge reinstated the work mandate in 2022.

As of June 7, 2024, Pathways had 4,318 members, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health. The agency said in an email that promotion efforts have included social media content and streaming ads on TV and radio, while a “robust” outreach campaign was being planned.

“Pathways deserves more time to see if it reaches its potential,” said Chris Denson, director of policy and research at the conservative Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

Denson said there is general agreement even among Pathways’ supporters that the state could have done a better marketing job. But he said a fundamental tenet of Pathways — transitioning people through employment, job training or other qualifying activities to private insurance — is sound, particularly given that many primary care physicians in the state are not accepting new Medicaid patients.

To critics, the actual first-year figure is all the more galling given how many people full Medicaid expansion could cover at no extra cost to the state, at least initially.

An analysis by the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute found Georgia’s Medicaid program would receive so much more federal funding under full expansion that in its first year the program could cover 482,000 residents for the same cost as 100,000 Pathways’ recipients.

North Carolina, which fully expand Medicaid in December, has enrolled nearly 500,000 people in about half the time Pathways has been in effect.

That broader Medicaid expansion was a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul in 2010. In exchange for offering Medicaid to nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, states would get more federal funding for the new enrollees.

The higher eligibility limit is $20,783 annually for a single person and $43,056 for a family of four. None of the 40 states that have accepted the deal require recipients to work in order to qualify.

But Kemp, like many other Republican governors, rejected full expansion, arguing that the state’s long-term costs would end up being too high.

Republicans in the Georgia Legislature floated the possibility of full expansion in 2024 before abandoning the effort.

For now, Georgia officials show no sign of giving up on Pathways. The program is set to expire at the end of September 2025. But in February, the state sued the Biden administration to try to extend it to 2028. A federal judge heard arguments last month.

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Related Topics:a Access to health care Brian P. Kemp delbert hosemann Featured GA State Wire General news Georgia Government programs health n P Politics U.S. News®

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Georgia

3 inmates, including man charged with murder, escape from Georgia jail

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

3 inmates, including man charged with murder, escape from Georgia jail

Authorities are searching for three inmates, including one charged with murder, who escaped from a county jail east of Atlanta on Dec. 22.

The three inmates fled from the DeKalb County Jail early on Dec. 22, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. They were found missing during a routine security check, which prompted internal security teams to search the jail, the sheriff’s office said.

“We take this breach very seriously and are working diligently to ensure these individuals are safely returned to custody as quickly as possible,” DeKalb County Sheriff Melody M. Maddox said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office did not provide further details on how the inmates were able to escape from the jail, but said its fugitive unit and uniform patrol units were “actively searching” for the three men. Several local law enforcement agencies, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, are assisting in the search.

The sheriff’s office warned that the inmates might be armed and are considered dangerous. The agency said the public is “urged to exercise extreme caution and should not approach them,” adding that people with information regarding the men’s whereabouts are asked to contact authorities.

The DeKalb County Jail is located in Decatur, about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

3 Georgia inmates facing multiple charges, including murder

The sheriff’s office said the three inmates were being held on multiple charges. The three men were identified as:

Stevenson Charles, 24, is charged with murder and armed robbery.
Yusuf Minor, 31, is charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Naod Yohannes, 25, is charged with simple assault, arson, and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution.

The U.S. Marshals Service is mainly seeking the location of Charles, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The agency described Charles as a violent fugitive, the television station reported.

The U.S. Marshals Service told WSB-TV that Charles has been “charged with, or convicted of, murder, aggravated assault, weapons violations, sodomy on a person less than 10 years old, kidnapping, carjacking, armed robbery and probation violations.”

In 2024, Charles pleaded guilty in Georgia to false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, and two counts of aggravated assault, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Before his guilty plea, the district attorney’s office said he was convicted in 2023 in a federal court in Florida for carjacking, kidnapping, and robbing five victims in Miami.

“Let the message go out to Mr. Charles and all other fugitives. We are looking for, and we will find you,” Thomas E. Brown, the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Any person who violates the laws of the United States will not be allowed a moment of rest. You will never find peace. You will answer for your crimes.”

The U.S. Marshals Service did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Dec. 22.

Recent jailbreaks across the United States

The incident in Georgia is the latest jailbreak to occur in the United States this year. It also comes just weeks after another Georgia inmate escaped from custody at a hospital and used ride-hailing services, including an Uber ride, to evade sheriff’s deputies.

The inmate, identified as 52-year-old Timothy Shane, was captured after about three days in Covington, a small city located outside of Atlanta, authorities said.

On Dec. 19, authorities arrested the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail in early December by removing mortar and concrete blocks from a degraded part of a wall.

In June, a former Arkansas police chief — convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin — was recaptured following a 12-day manhunt. Hardin had escaped from prison disguised as a guard and only made it over a mile away from the facility before he was found.

Earlier in the year, 10 inmates brazenly escaped from a New Orleans jail. Authorities previously said the inmates fled through a hole in a cell wall after ripping away a toilet and sink unit on the morning of May 16.

Most of the escapees were caught in the weeks after, and since then, multiple people have been charged with helping the inmates escape or stay on the run. The final inmate was recaptured on Oct. 8 in Atlanta, nearly five months after the escape.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY

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Georgia

Kirby Smart demands Georgia focus on Sugar Bowl, development

Published

15 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Kirby Smart demands Georgia focus on Sugar Bowl, development

ATHENS — Kirby Smart is dialed in, and it’s clear he has the same expectations for his players with Georgia’s CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal with Ole Miss fast approaching.

UGA last took the field on Dec. 7, when it defeated Alabama in the SEC title game, 28-7.

Smart acknowledged on Monday that the time between games does create challenges, but also, potential benefits.

“The negative is when you’re playing good football, a lot of times you want to keep playing, you want to stay in rhythm, you want to stay in a weekly schedule,” Smart said.

“That schedule gets thrown off by the break. You do the best you can with the calendar you have and try to talk to other people and find out what the best way to do things is.”

Smart said that, despite the underlying roster management taking place in his program — as it is in every program, with teams on the verge of the Jan. 2-Jan. 16 portal window — the focus is on the game.

“Development occurs in December for us, and that’s what we’ve been focused on,” Smart said, noting that, regardless of players’ futures, hard work is the next step.

“Did you truly come here to develop? Because if you did, all your buddies are out there right now, everybody’s announcing what they’re doing, announcing that ‘I’m going into the portal, announcing that I’m re-signing.’

Smart said a different sort of declaration is more appropriate.

“How about you announce that you’re getting better and you’re going to practice?” Smart said, “And actually do what the 20 and 30 years of college football players did before you, which was practice in December.”

The Bulldogs (12-1) play Ole Miss (12-1) at 8 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal in New Orleans, and Smart made it clear there’s not a second to waste.

“I’m excited about where our team is, (and) I’m excited that they’re practicing the way they are and are excited about the opponent, because they have so much respect for the team,” Smart said of the Rebels, who held a double-digit lead over UGA before the Bulldogs rallied for a 43-35 win in Athens earlier this season.

Smart said the Bulldogs’ preparation this year is similar to what it was last year leading into a CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal against Notre Dame, a game Georgia lost 23-10 to the eventual CFP runners-up.

“As far as changes, going to New Orleans, there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of change,” Smart said.

“We don’t think we did anything wrong in the prep last year. We didn’t necessarily play a great game, but we also played a really good football team. We had a block of the middle eight (minutes, final four of first half, first four of second) where we played really poorly, but I don’t think there was anything wrong with our prep.”

To Smart’s point, the Irish scored 17 points between the 39-second mark of the second quarter and the 14:45 mark of the second half — a span of 54 seconds — on a drive-ending field goal, a touchdown one play after a strip-sack fumble on Gunner Stockton and the opening kick of the second half being returned for a touchdown.

Georgia actually out-gained Notre Dame 296-244 but could not overcome a fumble in the end zone, the turnover that led to an Irish touchdown and a special teams breakdown.

Smart noted the back-breaking nature of such plays when teams are more evenly matched.

“I think when you play a quality team, just like every game we play in the SEC is tight,” Smart said. “And so when you’re in a playoff, you’re gonna play a good team.

“We trust the prep we have. We trust the rest and recovery we’ve had. And we’re gonna trust the plan we have to go out there and play at a high level.”

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Georgia

Patrons under the age of 30 to be barred from entering Georgia Street Lounge in downtown Indianapolis

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Patrons under the age of 30 to be barred from entering Georgia Street Lounge in downtown Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — A nightclub in downtown Indianapolis is planning to implement new age restrictions.

In a post on Facebook, Georgia Street Rhythm and Blues Lounge indicated that it will no longer accommodate guests under 30 years of age. Georgia Street Lounge posted a statement on its decision on its Facebook page.

In the post, the lounge’s management team indicated that it is planning to add new age restrictions because younger patrons “do not know how to conduct themselves in a grown and sexy environment.”

Georgia Street Lounge has indicated that it is willing to make exceptions to the rule for its staff and marketing team’s special guests.

“Georgia Street Lounge will now be age restricted to 30 and over,” the business’ management team wrote in its statement. “Unless you are a special guest of our staff or marketing team, you will not be allowed entry!!!”

In its statement, Georgia Street Lounge also suggested that it will no longer host any birthday parties for individuals under the age of 30.

“Do not contact us for any under-30 birthdays or special events, because the answer will be no,” Georgia Street Lounge management wrote in its statement. “Go somewhere else!!!”

FOX59/CBS4 checked public police reports to see how many times IMPD has been called to 28 W. Georgia St. — the address listed for Georgia Street Lounge — in the last six months. That search revealed that police published reports at the address three times between July 23 and Dec. 7.

Two of the times IMPD was called to Georgia Street Lounge over the last six months were for “disturbances.” On the other occasion officers went to the business over the last six months, IMPD took a report for a “simple assault.”

In total, IMPD filed seven reports from 28 W. Georgia St. between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 21, 2025. Officers filed five reports from there in 2024 and six reports from there in 2023.

Those reports do not indicate whether or not police were called to the address to investigate complaints directly involving Georgia Street Lounge or if the address was just closest to where an incident that occurred outside the business happened.

FOX59/CBS4 has reached out to Georgia Street Lounge for more information on its decision to change its age requirements. As of this article’s publication, the business had not responded to requests for comment.

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