Georgia publicly touts its Medicaid experiment as a success. Numbers tell a different story. - The Current
thecurrentga.org
In January, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp boasted that his experiment in Medicaid reform was a success, despite low enrollment numbers. Yet a report commissioned by the state and not yet publicly released suggested otherwise.
  • Price of Independence: Georgia’s experimental alternative to Medicaid expansion has cost taxpayers more than $86 million.
  • Enrollment Shortfall: Only 6,500 participants have enrolled in the first 18 months of the program — roughly 75% fewer than the state had estimated for year one.
  • Work Slowdown: The state found it difficult to verify that people are working to keep their benefits, so Georgia has gone from monthly checks to annual ones.
  • @grueEnglish
    5•2 days ago

    They could have just straight-up given the participants $13,369 each and saved money.

    “If the goal truly is to increase health insurance for low-income Georgians, they are doing it wrong,” said Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a member of a state commission to study comprehensive health coverage and a professor at Georgia State University School of Public Health. “The one thing that Pathways seems to do well is waste taxpayer money on consultants and administrative costs.”

    Damn, in terms of guarded PR-speak, that’s about as strong an indictment as there is. Translated to normal plain language, he just accused them of massive purposeful fraud.