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Georgia Health Insurance

Georgia is seeking federal approval for an affordable Georgia health insurance program and extensive other changes to its insurance market; short-term plans are now offered with plan terms of up to 364 days.

Georgia’s Health Insurance Marketplace

Georgia uses the federally run health insurance exchange, so enrollments are completed through HealthCare.gov.

Open enrollment for 2020 health plans has already been completed, although Georgia residents with qualifying events can still enroll or make changes to their coverage for 2020. The next open enrollment period, for plans effective in 2021, will start November 1, 2020.

Medicaid Coverage in Georgia

The advantages of Medicaid remain out of reach for many Georgians. Georgia has not accepted federal funding to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and the state’s Medicaid program is more limiting than average, with only six states having lower income limits for Medicaid eligibility for low-income people.

Georgia is seeking federal approval for a partial expansion of Medicaid, which would cover individuals with income up to the poverty level (as opposed to 138 percent of the poverty level, as called for in the ACA). Nonetheless, CMS rejected a similar proposal from Utah, so it’s unclear whether officials in Georgia will be fruitful in their bid to receive federal Medicaid expansion funding without fully expanding Medicaid.

Short-Term Health Insurance in Georgia

Georgia does not have state-specific laws for short-term health insurance plans, so the state defaults to the federal regulations.

That means insurers in Georgia can provide short-term plans with initial terms up to 364 days and the choice to renew for a total duration of up to 36 months. (Insurers can also offer plans with shorter maximum durations, however, and prohibit renewal if they opt to do so.)

How Has Obamacare Assisted Georgia?

Most states that have successfully lowered their uninsured population through the Affordable Care Act have implemented a state-run or partnership exchange and/or expanded Medicaid. Georgia has done neither of these things, which is usually an indication of opposition to the ACA.

The state’s uninsured rate had seen a moderate decline from 2013, merely before Obamacare plans were initiated. Through 2016, the percentage of Georgia inhabitants without health insurance dropped 5.9 percentage points from 18.8 to 12.9 percent (about a 31 percent decrease), according to U.S. Census data. But by 2018, the country’s uninsured rate had crept back up to 13.7 percent. Countrywide, the uninsured rate stood at 8.9 percent in 2018 and had been 14.5 percent in 2013. Georgia’s refusal to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid is a big part of why the nation’s uninsured rate is higher than the national average.

Resources and References:

• Affordable Care Act
• Advantages of Medicaid