(The Center Square) – More than 1.5 million Georgians enrolled in the state’s new health care exchange, Insurance Commissioner John King said.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would expand Medicaid.
The numbers for Georgia Access during the open enrollment period include 225,000 who did not participate previously in Healthcare.gov, King said.
The plan has lowered rates by 15% to 17% in rural areas, King previously told The Center Square. It also keeps money in the state, he said.
“So many of the fees that were being generated from Georgia were going to Washington to pay for part of the ACA and Georgia wasn’t getting a lot of that money back,” King said. “It was being distributed across the nation. And so this was a strategy of keeping the burden off of the taxpayer and the fee generated off this marketplace solution will stay in Georgia, will fund the reinsurance bucket which reduces the rates for insurance companies and brings competition across the state.”
Overall, more than 10 health care plans and eight dental plans were offered, though not all of them were available in every county. But 99% of counties had three options or more, King’s office said in a release.
More than 17,300 agents participated in Georgia Access, and about 80% of applicants worked directly with an agent.
The plan faced pushback from residents who asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to block it. King said previously the federal government was reluctant at first but, over the past year, partnered with the state to get the program off the ground successfully.
“Our goal for OE 2025 was to reduce the number of uninsured Georgians and institute an innovative enrollment process by partnering with private sector entities, simplifying the enrollment process for consumers,” King said, referring to open enrollment. “As a result, Georgians are left with a true no-wrong door approach to getting health coverage.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers are also looking to expand access to Medicaid for Georgians.
Senate Bill 50, introduced this week, would open up the Medicaid rolls to Georgians earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
Gov. Brian Kemp introduced the “Pathways to Coverage” program in 2023. Recipients who have a household poverty income of up to 100% of the federal poverty level but are not eligible for Medicaid can participate but must have a job or be involved in a job training or educational program.