A bill introduced by Senate Democrats this week would force Georgia to expand its Medicaid program as called for by the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Bill 295 would require the state to pay its share of the cost to expand the health program. An expansion would add an estimated 650,000 low-income people to the Medicaid rolls. The program currently provides health coverage to 1.6 million Georgians.
“It’s really a no-brainer,” said state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, one of the bill’s sponsors. “It will save lives and bring infusions of great economic development to the state.”
Expanding Medicaid, a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, would bring in more than $30 billion in new federal funding to Georgia over a decade. Gov. Nathan Deal, a staunch Obamacare opponent, has said the state can’t afford to expand the program even with the new funding. Deal has estimated expansion would cost the state $4 billion over 10 years, though the law’s supporters argue the real cost would be closer to half of that.
SB 295 has been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senate Democratic Caucus is also expected to introduce a similar bill next week. Both stand little chance of moving forward but will mainly serve as a platform for the party and Democratic gubernatorial challenger Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, during the legislative session.
Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, who serves on the Appropriations Committee, opposes expansion.
“This is not the time to put more people into a government run health care plan which offers fairly poor access to care and comes with a big price tag,” Hill said Friday. “We can’t rely on the federal government to help pay for this program when they didn’t keep their promise that we can keep our own doctor and insurance under Obamacare.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the federal government could not force states to expand Medicaid. Georgia and 22 other states have rejected expansion, while 25 states and the District of Columbia are moving forward.
Medicaid expansion — and the governor’s rejection of it — will remain the focus of heated debate.
Hundreds of supporters of expansion, including Fort, rallied outside the Capitol on Monday.
Fort said Democrats realize they face an uphill battle and will continue to educate the public about expansion.
“We’re going to keep on pushing the governor, pushing the Legislature,” he said. “We just think it’s the right thing to do.”
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