For many voters, the Mid-Term election boiled down to one key issue: healthcare. Certainly, coverage was important to Henry County, where the 2015 rate of uninsured was 13% (RWJ Foundation, 2018 report). For those of working age (18-64), the rate would be considerably higher based on national averages.
Current census data shows that Georgia’s rate of uninsured is 13.4% which is much higher than the national average of 8.7%. There are 1,375,000 uninsured Georgians.
Henry County voters and Georgians in general have finally realized the game that has been run on them by the GOP regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare). As opposed to prior elections, the Democrats now have the healthcare insurance coverage upper hand…a key reason that Henry went for Abrams.
The Georgia Planning and Budgeting Institute indicates that a: “poll of 625 Georgia voters found broad support for generating additional state revenue to pay for new investments in things like education and health services by raising tobacco taxes and enacting a minimum tax on Georgia corporations.” Specifically, when asked: “Do you support or oppose leveraging federal money to help more uninsured Georgians afford health care?”, only 23% were opposed.
However, the GOP leadership here and in many red states still opposes Medicaid expanding to cover the working poor, even though it would decrease the national uninsured rate for non-elderly by over 4% (Urban Institute, 5-18). National GOP leadership has no plan to even address the issue. The same goes for pre-existing conditions, despite the very recent disingenuous campaign rhetoric by frightened GOP candidates.
Governor Kemp apparently believes that illegals are the ones causing the uninsured crisis (AJC, 2-19-18), although Emergency Medicaid for illegals is only 1% of the national Medicaid budget (Better Georgia, 2-23-18). Despite the fact that it would create tens of thousands of good paying jobs for Georgians, Kemp (like Deal) philosophically does not want ACA expansion.
They say that even with the Feds covering 90% of the cost, we just can’t afford it (per Deal, it puts a “strain on our state”). However, the respected Urban Institute states: “Several comprehensive analyses of current expansion states have found that Medicaid expansion had a net positive impact on state budgets.”
Somehow, 33 states, including quite a few red ones, have managed to afford it and several more are now set to expand, just not Georgia. In fact, none of the “Deep South” states have expanded Medicaid. If our legislature and new Governor truly believe insurance coverage to be a priority, as do the vast majority of Georgians, they will find the money.
If Deal, Kemp and other state GOP big wigs really believed what they are saying about our state budget, they would have lobbied the 2018 GOP controlled Congress to simply pay 100% of the cost of coverage versus the current 90%. They did not, despite numerous opportunities to do so.
They just toe the GOP line that, through some as yet to be disclosed miracle, Trump will deliver on his promise to expand coverage to all and lower costs. Sure, as soon as Mexico builds a $24 billion wall.
Per the Urban Institute, if all states expanded Medicaid: “Between 4.3 and 4.7 million fewer people would be uninsured, a reduction of between 24 and 26 percent.” If McConnell and Trump supported the Feds picking up the remaining 10%, that particular Medicaid bill would pass with little opposition from either party. But, similar to Kemp and Deal, they do not want coverage expanded. And, they do not care about pre-existing conditions being covered.
They have made that opposition clear; the GOP has attempted repeal of the ACA dozens of times, with no true alternative. If not for McCain, the GOP already would have repealed the requirement to cover pre-existing conditions.
Why expand Medicaid? Here are the benefits for Georgia, per a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis:
a. the number covered by Medicaid would rise by 726,000 to 2,599,000 (38% increase); b. the rate of uninsured would drop from 18.9% to 13.8%; c. the number of uninsured would drop from 1,778,000 to 1,305,000, a decrease of 27%; d. the increase in state spending on Medicaid would only be 6%; and e. there would be a drop in uncompensated care costs (almost 20% based on national averages), helping both rural and urban hospitals to lower bad debt and stay open. (Note: Seven Georgia hospitals have closed since 2010 and more closings are expected.) Keep these facts in mind when you evaluate the new Governor, as well as your Henry County State Senators and House Representatives.
