Peach Tree Times

Democrats around the country have made expanded socialized medicine a central part of their platform in recent years, often advocating for expanded Medicaid as a means to that end. This month, Georgia Democrats are making a significant push to achieve that goal, at least for a larger portion of the population. 

The Georgia Recorder reported that state Democrats are making a hard push to add full Medicaid expansion to the agenda of the upcoming special legislative session. The session's main purpose is to take care of redistricting following the 2020 census. Georgia is one of roughly a dozen states that has not expanded Medicaid following passage of the Affordable Care Act, according to the Georgia Recorder.

For their part, Republicans are pushing back and looking to strike a compromise. Gov. Brian Kemp has proposed a smaller expansion of Medicaid, which contained a work requirement, Georgia Public Broadcasting reported. This proposal was vehemently opposed by federal officials.

Some government watchdogs and public policy institutes are also pushing back on the proposal. Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, penned an opinion piece in April arguing against the massive expansion of Medicaid.

"Expanding the program intended for the truly vulnerable would add about half a million able-bodied Georgia adults to its rolls at a cost of more than $3 billion per year. (Both numbers figure to be higher with thousands of Georgians losing their jobs.)," Wingfield wrote. "The state would be on the hook for 10% of that."

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute reported in 2017 that 2 million of the state's residents used Medicaid, and that 92% of those Medicaid recipients are children, seniors or disabled individuals. The institute reported that Georgia's uninsured rate is 13.7% and is the third-highest in the country.