Georgia lawmakers to push Medicaid expansion in General Assembly

Oct. 21--With 300,000 Georgians still without health care coverage, some members of the state Legislative delegation are pushing for an expansion of Medicaid for people who fall into the gap of no coverage.

More than 65 people joined state Rep. Debbie Buckner in Columbus Council Chambers Wednesday for a Medicaid Expansion Town Hall meeting as part of the House Democratic Caucus.

Stacey Abrams of House District 89 said legislation will be introduced in the General Assembly next year for Medicaid expansion just as lawmakers passed a transportation tax this year.

"Georgia can't afford not to expand," said Abrams of Atlanta. "We have 15 rural hospitals that are in jeopardy in north and south Georgia that are facing ruin if we don't step up. We have millions of dollars we can generate for this state and thousands of jobs. Democrats and Republicans have to stand up."

State Rep. Calvin Smyre, leader of the local delegation, said the task of getting Medicaid expanded is more difficult after the Gov. Nathan Deal gave that authority to the General Assembly.

"The General Assembly would have to institute a Medicaid expansion, which would make it very difficult," Smyre said of the Republican controlled General Assembly. "They are throwing the ball into another court."

The lawmakers found support for the action from Dr. Cathy Cook of Cook Dental Care; Laura Colbert, a community outreach manager; Tim Sweeney, deputy director of Policy Georgia Budget and Policy Institute; Tripp Layfield, senior vice president and general counsel for Columbus Regional Health; and Paul Morris, health services manager at the Muscogee County Jail.

"[No character style]"/>[JUMP]Cook said the Affordable Care Act has helped her business because more people with health care are using the service for dental care. Georgia chose not to expand Medicaid under the national health care plan. An expansion of Medicaid is helping 31 states with working families.

Georgia would benefit from an expansion and it has one of the biggest potential markets.

"Affordable Care Act helped my office," Cook said. "People didn't have insurance but once they got insurance they now come. It's brought people into the practice."

Cook noted it costs 10 times more to treat patients in the emergency room. People leave the hospital with some medicine and recommendations.

"It is a system that is still flawed," she said. "There is a whole lot of room for growth. We have room to positively impact patients to expand and offer more care."

With thousands moving through the county jail every year, Morris said there are 700,000 getting health care in jail and prisons across the country. Many looked to the jails and prisons as a safety net for treatment.

"Eventually every thing falls too far," he said. "The safety net has holes in it."

Layfield said Midtown Medical Center, Northside Medical Center and the John B. Amos Cancer Center under Columbus Regional Health all provide care as a nonprofit.

"We are just a hospital," he said. "We are the safety net. We catch all the people that fall through."

Layfield said the hospital knows that it will lose money on some services such as trauma, auto accidents.

"We know we are going to lose money on safety-net services," he said. "We are expected to make up that and surgery is one."

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