Georgia is moving forward with a limited Medicaid expansion plan that includes work requirements, Capitol Beat News Service reported Nov. 18.
Six things to know:
1. The limited expansion plan is set to go into effect in July 2023.
2. The limited expansion will require enrollees to work, study or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month.
3. An estimated 345,000 Georgians are expected to become eligible under the plan.
4. Some enrollees will pay monthly premiums, which will range from $7 to $16, depending on income and tobacco use.
5. The work requirement plan is moving forward after a federal judge agreed with a Georgia lawsuit that argued that CMS had overstepped its authority in blocking the requirement. Other states that had proposed work requirements have dropped those plans.
6. Critics of the plan — such as the advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future — have argued that the plan will make it harder to get healthcare and the state should fully expand Medicaid instead.
"Because of the program’s complications, only a fraction of low-income uninsured adults will get health insurance,'' said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future. "Medicaid expansion would be a simpler and more cost-effective solution for Georgia and uninsured Georgians."