Local leaders Wednesday warned that two anti-Obamacare bills waiting for Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature could hamper their ability to educate their residents about the health care law and ultimately end up costing Georgia taxpayers money.
The pair of bills approved by state lawmakers after heated debate late Tuesday night would all but ensure Georgia won’t expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The more sweeping of the two goes further by preventing any state or local governments, agencies or employees from advocating for expansion, under certain circumstances, or from creating a health insurance exchange.
Many cheered the bills’ passage, but local leaders and consumer advocates worried that the legislation would bar state organizations, including the University of Georgia, from running health insurance navigator programs to help people buy health plans through the federally run Health Insurance Marketplace.
That has Fulton County Chairman John Eaves concerned.
Eaves, a prominent Obamacare supporter, on Wednesday called the General Assembly’s passage of the bills “shortsighted” and an “impediment” to thousands of uninsured Georgians who could gain access to health care.
“These are people who are vulnerable and need to have access to health care,” he said.
Supporters of the two bills say concerns about the legislation are unwarranted and that this is what a large number of Georgians want: the state to say no to Obamacare.
“We have set state policy to mirror the concerns of the overwhelming majority of people in Georgia who believe the Affordable Care Act is an economic train wreck and want the state of Georgia to oppose it,” said Rep. Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta.
Deal, a longtime and vocal Obamacare opponent, is widely expected to sign into law both pieces of legislation.
The first piece of legislation, House Bill 990, would give the General Assembly the authority to decide whether the state should expand its Medicaid program. That power currently lies with the governor. The second, House Bill 943, would prevent state or local governments from advocating expansion.
Medicaid expansion — a critical element of the Affordable Care Act’s goal of insuring millions of Americans — would extend health coverage to an estimated 650,000 low-income Georgians.
Deal has said the state can’t afford to expand an already overwhelmed program that doesn’t work. Medicaid currently covers about 1.7 million low-income children, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled in the state. Under Obamacare, the federal government covers the full cost of expansion for the first three years, with its share gradually dropping to no less than 90 percent thereafter.
Expansion opponents, however, question whether the federal government would be able to hold up its end of the bargain, or would it leave Georgia holding the bag if it expanded.
More than half of Georgians believe all or at least parts of the Affordable Care Act should be repealed, a recent poll conducted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows.
But multiple AJC polls have also shown that six in 10 Georgians think the state should expand Medicaid.
Critics of HB 990 and HB 943 say they could have harmful consequences for Georgians that aren’t immediately clear and will hurt people’s ability to get answers to their questions about how Obamacare could personally affect them.
The passage of HB 943 simultaneously marked a victory and a disappointment for tea partyers who rallied behind it.
It’s disappointing that lawmakers eliminated far more sweeping language in previous versions of the legislation that would have barred the state from using its resources to implement any portions of Obamacare, tea party activist Carolyn Cosby said. The governor’s office also seemed to balk at the stronger language, Cosby said.
“This bill didn’t accomplish much,” she said. “Governor Deal missed his opportunity. He’s disappointed his people.”
The bill has gotten mixed reviews from counties.
Many are concerned about whether it could lead to a tax increase for local residents, said Shaun Adams, associate legislative director for Association County Commissioners of Georgia, an advocate for the state’s 159 county governments.
Hospitals supported by local governments would not be able to inform or sign up uninsured patients for private insurance under the Affordable Care Act, he said. That means local taxpayers could still end up absorbing the costs for uninsured patients.
“We’re concerned about the fiscal impact and the domino effect this could have on our hospitals and ultimately economic development,” Adams said.
Lindsey questioned that. “It’s beyond me to figure out how it could lead to an increase of millage rate,” he said.
Liz Flowers, the executive director of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said the legislation could also be especially harmful to people in rural communities who have limited access to the Internet. The law might deter local governments and libraries from offering information about the health care law to residents in search of information, she said.
“I believe this will have real consequences for real people,” she said.
For now, Eaves, the Fulton County chairman, said he won’t stop trying to help people enroll.
“We’re going to figure out a way to still serve our citizens and get the word out,” he said. “We’re going to keep pushing, even if there’s an obstacle that’s been put in our way.”
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