Georgia – In a major change for Georgia’s health insurance system, residents will soon be required to search for health insurance policies using a newly created state-run portal, Georgia Access. Effective from November 1, this shift means Georgians will not be able to choose their insurance using the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) website, Healthcare.gov.
The action follows protracted political arguments on the efficiency and execution of the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare. Enacted in 2010 to give every American access to health insurance, the ACA is pillar of former President Barack Obama’s government. Though it is nationwide, the act has been modified and accepted differently at state levels depending on political leanings.
The choice Georgia’s state-specific site mirrors a larger trend of Republican-led states looking for substitutes for federal health care policies. Among several ACA rules, Governor Brian Kemp has been especially critical of the Medicaid expansion. Under the ACA, this increase was intended to cover additional low-income adults; the federal government promised to pay for ninety percent of the cost. Kemp, however, and governors from nine other states have chosen not to take the federal money to grow Medicaid.
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Georgia thus has a contradiction in health care enrollment. With almost 1.3 million people registering in 2024 alone, Georgia’s enrollment in ACA plans jumped by 181% from 2020 to 2024, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation research. Despite this rise, a sizable portion of Georgians still lack insurance; this situation that state officials attribute to the unwillingness to extend Medicaid.
The new Georgia Access portal is part of an initiative led by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and its head, Commissioner John King. King said this is a break from depending on the federal government and is meant to lower the number of uninsured individuals by using private sector businesses in the enrollment process. According to OCI, this strategy is the first of its type in the country and emphasizes Georgia’s determination to independently overhaul state health coverage free from federal systems.
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“This milestone is the result of the extraordinary work our office has conducted over the past three years to move Georgia away from reliance on the federal government for health coverage,” said Commissioner King. “The Georgia Access approach is an innovative one. It will be the first State-based Exchange to partner with private sector companies to get consumers enrolled. It represents our commitment to expand access to affordable, quality health coverage and reduce the number of uninsured Georgians.”
This shift raises concerns regarding the effect on consumers used to the federal portal and the general efficiency of the new state-run system.
