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

Georgia ruling party files lawsuit to ban opposition parties

Published

1 day ago

October 29, 2025

Press Room

Georgia ruling party files lawsuit to ban opposition parties

The ruling party in Georgia, Georgian Dream (GD), announced on Tuesday that it will file a constitutional lawsuit to ban three opposition parties for their alleged unconstitutionality.

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated that the lawsuit will be directed against the United National Movement, the Coalition for Change, and the Lelo Party. According to GD, a conservative populist party under the leadership of Bidzina Ivanishvili, these parties have repeatedly rejected the legitimacy and constitutional authority of the ruling government.

The lawsuit cites several alleged violations, including attempts to overthrow Georgia’s constitutional order. GD claims that the parties declared the 2024 parliamentary elections “illegitimate,” forcibly entered the Parliament building, and launched protest actions aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order. The lawsuit also accuses them of human rights violations during their previous terms in office and of undermining the country’s territorial integrity in connection with the August 2008 War.

The lawsuit is based on Article 23 of the Georgian Constitution, which authorizes the constitutional court to ban a political party if there is evidence that it seeks to overthrow or forcibly change the constitutional order, undermine the country’s independence or territorial integrity, or propagate war or violence, among others.

Opposition leaders condemned the planned lawsuit as “(…) illegal as the entire illegitimate, Russian-backed regime itself.” Irakli Kupradze, leader of Lelo party, said, “The anti-national and anti-Georgian Georgian Dream decided to deliver a decisive blow to democracy and ban the pro-Western opposition parties.” Tina Bokuchava, chair of the United National Movement, added that “(…) this could become a new opportunity for the country’s democratic political forces, those who truly fight against Ivanishvili’s treacherous criminal gang and for a better future for Georgia, to unite in a common resistance movement”.

Georgia is currently facing a democratic backsliding, with rights organizations expressing concerns over the persecution of opposition figures and civil society groups. Ahead of October’s local elections, Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, and Commissioner Kos, called on the Georgian authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of assembly and expression, and to release those arbitrarily detained. The European Union (EU) has repeatedly voiced concern over the democratic decline in Georgia. The European Parliament has described the current authorities as illegitimate and urged the holding of new parliamentary elections. Observers warn that the move to ban opposition parties could further undermine Georgia’s stalled bid for EU accession.

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Georgia

Georgia SNAP benefits: How you can help those impacted by upcoming pause

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2025

Press Room

Georgia SNAP benefits: How you can help those impacted by upcoming pause

Federal shutdown a month later and no deal in sight

The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 with many users of government subsidized programs about to lose all funding and pause payments. This will cause a ripple effect across Georgia. Here’s the latest on the impact in the Peach State.

ATLANTA – With more than 1.6 million Georgians about to lose access to SNAP benefits if the federal government shutdown drags past this week, food banks across North Georgia are bracing for a surge, and asking the public to step in immediately.

What you can do:

Here is list of organizations, region by region, in North Georgia which could use your help:

Metro Atlanta (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton)

Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) — feeds families across 29 counties
Needs: peanut butter, canned chicken/tuna, soups, rice, cereal, plus cash (most efficient — $1 = up to 3 meals)
Donate: https://www.acfb.org/donate

Hosea Helps (Atlanta & Southside) — crisis food, housing, seniors, emergency meals
Needs: fresh/frozen food, hygiene, baby supplies, volunteers for emergency surge
Donate: https://4hosea.org/donate

HOPE Atlanta — homelessness prevention & hunger relief (formerly Action Ministries)
Needs: funds to keep meal and housing programs from being disrupted
Donate: https://hopeatlanta.org/donate

Salvation Army Metro Atlanta — food pantries + shelter + bill assistance
Needs: nonexpired shelf-stable food, hygiene products, winter readiness
Donate: https://salvationarmyatlanta.org

North Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall and Cherokee counites

North Fulton Community Charities (Roswell/Alpharetta)
Needs: diapers, canned proteins, cereal, hygiene items
Donate: https://nfcchelp.org/donate

The Place of Forsyth County — food + rent + senior services
Needs: kid-friendly foods, rice, pasta, toiletries, funds
Donate: https://www.theplaceofforsyth.org/donate

Meals by Grace (Forsyth & Dawson) — free grocery delivery to families with no transport
Needs: pantry items + Amazon wishlist + delivery volunteers
Donate: https://mealsbygrace.org/donate

Georgia Mountain Food Bank (Hall / North Georgia)
Needs: canned meats, vegetables, rice, shelf-stable basics
Donate: https://www.gamountainfoodbank.org/donate

Henry, Fayette, Coweta, S. Fulton, Rockdale, and Douglas counties

Real Life Center (Peachtree City / Fayette) — food + stability programs
Needs: full family staples, baby supplies, hygiene kits
Donate: https://reallifecenter.org/donate

Helping In His Name Ministries (Henry County) — primary food shelf for Henry
Needs: canned meat, cereal, shelf-stable milk, hygiene
Donate: https://www.hihn.org/donate

One Roof Outreach (Coweta) — food pantry + housing help + thrift supports operations
Needs: food, new socks/underwear, seasonal supplies
Donate: https://oneroofoutreach.org/donate

Rockdale Emergency Relief (Conyers / Rockdale County)
Needs: rice, pasta, canned protein, toiletries
Donate: https://rockdaleemergencyrelief.org/donate

Clarke, Oconee, Barrow, Madison & nearby counties

Food Bank of Northeast Georgia (Athens + Clayton branches)
Needs: canned fruits/veggies, hearty soups, proteins
Cash impact: $2 = 5 meals distributed
Donate: https://foodbanknega.org/donate

Columbus and West Georgia

Feeding The Valley Food Bank (Columbus region — serves parts of West Georgia)
Needs: canned protein, kid snacks, grains, hygiene
Donate: https://www.feedingthevalley.org/donate

What is the fastest way to help now?

Cash donations go the farthest: food banks buy exactly what’s missing in bulk, fast.
Protein is gold: peanut butter, canned chicken, tuna, chili, hearty soups
Diapers & hygiene items are huge gaps: SNAP does not cover those at all.
Volunteer sorting/distribution: also needed within 48 hours of shutdown trigger

The Source: The details in this article come from the individual organizations list above. Previous FOX 5 Altanta reporting was also used.

GeorgiaFamilyConsumer

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Georgia

Florida plans to pressure Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton

Published

3 days ago

October 27, 2025

Press Room

Florida plans to pressure Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton

Florida coach Billy Gonzales said his Gators are bringing energy to their preparation for their annual rivalry game with Georgia in the wake of Billy Napier’s firing on Sunday.

“They were excited about just getting on the field, getting back on the grass, and it went well,” said Gonzales, who has been promoted from receivers coach into the interim head coaching role.

“So, we’re obviously getting ready for this week’s game, and guys are working hard right now.”

Florida opened as a 7 1/2-point favorite, but the line has dipped to 7 points, an indication that the majority of the early money is being bet on the Gators in their 3:30 p.m. game against the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Gonzales wasn’t shy about how Florida planned to attack Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, who has led Georgia to a 6-1 start that’s including a 4-1 mark in SEC play.

It’s a Florida defense that sacked Texas quarterback Arch Manning six times in a 29-21 win over a Longhorns team that was ranked No. 9 at the time of the teams’ meeting, on Oct. 4.

“I’m looking at some of the stats, you know, we just got done talking about completion percentage, and looking at his last game (Stockton) was 26 of 31 for four touchdowns, so he does a great job of making great decisions,” Gonzales said at his press conference on Monday, referencing Stockton’s performance in his most recent outing, a 43-35 win over Ole Miss.

“The main thing is for us is to hopefully be able to cause some pressure to him, and to cause pressure means being able to coverage in the back end as well.”

Gonzales knows Stockton has plenty of help, too, starting with playmaking receiver Zachariah Branch, UGA’s clear No. 1 target with a team-high 35 receptions for 362 yards.

He’s extremely explosive …. watching him on film, he’s a guy that you can get the ball and he’s quick,” Gonzales said. “He’s got a great first step, accelerates from zero to five extremely fast. A playmaker. They’ve got a bunch on the perimeter.”

It will be the Bulldogs first game without receiver Colbie Young, who suffered a fractured leg on the opening series of UGA’s win over Ole Miss and is out indefinitely.

Georgia acquired Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas through the transfer portal and he’s considered among the top options to replace Young as a perimeter threat, despite his relatively limited production (4 catches, 54 yards) to this point of the season.

Smart indicated the Bulldogs have several other options, including the usage of additional tight ends in various alignments.

“We know about their tight ends — they’ve had some good tight ends there,” Gonzales said.

“They’ve got some great athletes.”

Gonzales also noted how Georgia backs Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier are of similar size and production and run behind a big offensive line.

“They’ve got some playmakers on the perimeter,” Gonzales said, “but I know we’ve got some great players on the defensive side that are excited to go against them as well.”

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