Left behind by Obamacare, and the state of Georgia

The Republican leaders of Georgia claim the state can't afford to expand Medicaid. The expansion would be almost totally paid for by the federal government. But Georgia can afford to use state tax money subsidize big business donors.

Obamacare provides money to states to expand Medicaid, which is run by the states. Each states has its own criteria for eligibility, and for the amount of aid available. It was assumed that states would take the money and expand Medicaid, so subsidies were not provided for very poor people who were expected to be covered by Medicaid. Unfortunately, several Republican states, including Georgia, have refused to expand Medicaid, leaving the poorest citizes w/o health coverage.

As expected from the AJC, the reporter puts the blame on President Obama, w/o giving the whole story.

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/left-behind-by-obamacare-and-the-state/nfRj8/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1

By Misty Williams - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
April 5, 2014


Karen LaBar is 41 and has never had a mammogram. She has high blood pressure but no doctor to attend to it. She works hard providing home health care to others but has no health care of her own.

And here’s the kicker: as President Barack Obama exults in the 7.1 million signups for his health plan, there will be no signup for LaBar. She’s too poor.

Statewide, more than 400,000 of Georgia’s poorest, most vulnerable citizens have been left behind by the health care law that was supposed to benefit them the most. Georgia chose not to expand Medicaid, as envisioned by the Affordable Care Act, creating a gap into which these hundreds of thousands fall. Those in the gap make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but too little to get federal tax credits to help buy coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace.

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by CURTIS COMPTON
031914

Left behind in the new world of health care Anthony Jenkins, 32, sits alone and unemployed in the living room of his sparsely supplied apartment on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, in Atlanta. Jenkins can't hold a steady job because of a seizure disorder. His last employer had to let him go for liability reasons after he suffered his second seizure while on the job. He doesn't make enough money to qualify for federal subsidies through the Health Insurance Marketplace and is being allowed to live in his apartment temporarily pending qualification for disability payments.

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Georgia Medicaid eligibility

https://dch.georgia.gov/applying-medicaid

You may be eligible for Medicaid if your income is low and you match one of the following descriptions:

• You think you are pregnant
• You are age 65 or older
• You have a disability
• You are a child or teenager
• You are legally blind
• You need nursing home care

[Note that an adult w/o a disability is not eligible for Medicaid in Georgia.]

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The following link shows Georgia Medicaid eligibility and resource limits.

https://dch.georgia.gov/sites/dch.georgia.gov/files/2014%20Financial%20Limits%20Chart%20Revised%203314_0.pdf

eg., a medically needy single adult is not eligible if their income is more than $208 a month ($2,496 a year)!