Seldom does a state get the opportunity to solve major problems so cost-effectively. Federal funds have been set aside for Georgia under the Affordable Care Act to broaden access to insurance coverage under Medicaid. We can cover 530,000 adults who are not now eligible with federal funds paying the entire cost for the first three years, phasing down over time to 90 percent.
The offer is on the table. All we have to do is say, “Yes.”
As the CEO of Families First, the largest and leading Georgia nonprofit serving children and families, we see what happens when parents lack insurance for themselves even though their children have Medicaid or PeachCare.
Without treatment for or detection of chronic diseases or mental health problems, parents are forced to miss work or drop out of school. Difficulty coping with stress and lowered earning potential lessens their ability to give their children the care and security they need and the future they deserve. Productivity drops, as do the taxes these working families can pay. It affects our entire community.
Saying “yes” to Medicaid expansion means real solutions to real problems. It will:
• Cover 530,000 more Georgians, improving health and saving hundreds of lives a year.
• Strengthen our health care system and help rural hospitals survive.
• Create 56,000 jobs, mostly outside Atlanta, lowering Georgia’s stubbornly high unemployment rate and generating an average $6.5 billion a year in economic output.
• Generate tax receipts to the state and local governments of almost $3 billion over 10 years.
Gov. Nathan Deal has worried about the cost to the state. However, the expansion would require only about a 1 percent increase in the budget over 10 years, yielding economic benefits of $30.45 for each dollar Georgia spends, even without considering such efficiencies as replacing millions of dollars in state-only mental health spending. Thorough analysis may show a net budget outlay of zero, or even the net savings other states have identified.
In any case, the impact on the state budget is not the only issue, nor is it the paramount one. Gov. Deal is obligated to look at the big picture. He has to consider the effect of decisions not just on government but on citizens, the economy and other institutions. He has shown this kind of leadership with such initiatives as reforming the criminal justice system to stop filling prisons and jails needlessly. He can and should do it again with Medicaid expansion.
Besides improving health, creating jobs and boosting the economy, Medicaid expansion will advance his criminal justice reforms by enabling adults diverted to accountability courts to receive treatment for mental health or addiction problems that fuel incarceration.
As Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona who initially fought Obamacare, stated, “(We’ve) crafted a conservative plan that … pumps billions of dollars into our economy … protects hospitals … and keeps Arizona tax dollars in Arizona.”
Georgia should say “yes” to the Medicaid expansion as a wise investment in our state and its people.
Kim Anderson is CEO of Families First.
