Help make a difference for uninsured Georgia families. Share your comments with state health officials today!

Georgia's Governor and state health officials are asking to extend a Medicaid program called Georgia Pathways to Coverage. In its first year and a half, the Pathways program has done very little to help increase health insurance coverage among Georgia adults with low-incomes. So far the program has been expensive, complicated for Georgians trying to apply, hard to operate for Georgia's government, and has not made a dent in the problem that state leaders claimed it would solve.

Now is the time for you to share your comments and be a Georgia hero! State leaders are required to accept comments from the public about their request to renew and extend the Pathways program. State officials are also required to consider making changes to the program based on the comments they receive. This is your chance to tell Governor Kemp how these plans will affect you, your loved ones, your community, and Georgians across the state.

IMPORTANT: Each comment submitted to state health officials must be unique! We have provided some text to help you get started on your comments, but it is very important that you change the examples so that they are in your own words. We highly recommend including:

1) Your own experiences being uninsured and unable to access care or medicines that you or a loved one needed;

2) If you have applied to or are participating in the Pathways program. (If so, was it hard to apply? How has the program helped you access care? If more Georgians were able to get coverage like you hve, how do you think they would benefit? If you applied but didn't get coverage, what changes do you think they should make so you could successfully participate?)  

3) How Medicaid has helped you, your loved ones, your patients, and/or your community or hospital (and why more Georgians should have access to similar benefits); and

4) Other relevant stories or experiences that you want to share.

Here are examples of what you might include in your comment below. Please re-write these ideas/examples in your own words: 

• This issue is important to me because...
   
• I noticed that the application estimates that 30,000 Georgians will gain coverage from the program by 2030. The Georgia Department of Community Health states that 240,000 low-income Georgians are uninsured, so my comments primarily focus on how Pathways can be expanded to maximize the number of people who can get insured through the program. 
   
• The easiest way to increase enrollment in the Pathways to Coverage is to allow all adults with incomes under the federal poverty level to enroll without the restrictions that are currently in place. A broader program would enable many more Georgians to get health insurance, go to the doctor and get prescription medicines when they need to, access preventive services to keep them healthy before getting sick, and protect them from unaffordable or catastrophic medical bills. All Georgians deserve that kind of peace of mind and support. 
   
• The application's proposal to expand coverage to caregivers of young children is a step in the right direction and I support this idea. However, that addition doesn't account for the many other kinds of caregivers and other Georgians who need health insurance. Family caregivers generously look after more than just young children. They may care for and support children with disabilities (regardless of age), adults with disabilities or serious medical conditions, or seniors. Caregivers give up employment or put their education plans on hold because no one else is available to care for their loved one, and/or they can't afford a paid caregiver. They are showing love and loyalty by caring for their family, and Georgia should recognize their sacrifices by supporting them with health insurance. 
   
• The Pathways extension application also continues to leave out other groups of Georgians who need health coverage. Georgia should consider opening the program to groups like: 
  • People with health conditions that prevent them from working and people going through medical treatments that make it difficult for them to work. Examples include cancer diagnosis, those going through chemotherapy, people recovering from a stroke or similarly debilitating condition, people with mental health conditions or addiction issues, people with brain injuries or early onset Alzheimer's/other dementia-causing diseases, and others.
  • People with disabilities who are likely to be deemed "disabled" by the federal government but have not yet had their disability application approved; 
  • Georgians who are looking for work but haven't yet secured it (and/or can't secure it b/c of a lack of child care or transportation); and
  • Georgians living in areas that are economically disadvantaged and are less likely to have decent, consistent jobs.

Even though I've suggested that these additional groups, I would lik to repeat that the Pathways program would be most beneficial and effective if it allowed all low-income adults to be eligible, instead of trying to define narrow categories of people who are eligible. 

Thank you for your comment and your advocacy! You are a health care hero for Georgians!