Extending Medicaid coverage for women who have given birth. Higher pay for physicians serving Georgia’s poor. More money for rural health care. In many ways, health care is getting a boost in Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget. Kemp’s proposed budget envisions a record $30.2 billion in state spending next year. The highest-profile items include $5,000 pay raises…
Close to 20,000 new Covid cases (including positives from antigen tests) were reported in Georgia on the last Wednesday of 2021, as new daily state records were being set. On the state virus map, metro Atlanta was covered by a deep, dangerous red color, signifying high rates of infection. People were scrambling to get Covid…
The timing of the waiver decision, right before Christmas, drew a quick, angry response from state Republican leaders. Gov. Brian Kemp’s spokeswoman noted that the federal health officials’ announced rejection of the state’s proposed work requirements for its Medicaid waiver came two days before Christmas. “They attempted to hide behind the holiday,’’ said Katie Byrd….
By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller A record 13.6 million Americans have signed up for health coverage for 2022 on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, with nearly a month remaining to enroll in most states, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. President Joe Biden’s top health advisers credited the increased government subsidies, which lowered out-of-pocket costs,…
By Ariel Hart and Andy Miller A top federal official in charge of negotiating with Gov. Brian Kemp on Georgia’s high-stakes health care proposals visited Atlanta on Tuesday to talk about maternal health and other topics. But Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, had no answers for when any of the…
Democrat Stacey Abrams’ entry Wednesday into the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial race almost guarantees that health care will be a leading issue in the campaign. Abrams, who narrowly lost to Brian Kemp in the 2018 race, pushed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act as a top priority in that campaign. As governor, Kemp has taken…
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) said Monday that the health insurance provisions in the social policy and climate change bill pending in Congress would be a “game changer’’ for Georgia. The $1.7 trillion legislative package, which recently passed the U.S. House, would offer coverage in the health insurance exchange for hundreds of thousands of Georgia…
A large Georgia-based health care company and its affiliates have agreed to pay $4.2 million to resolve allegations in a false-claims case involving its home health business, federal officials announced Monday. Besides providing home care services, PruittHealth, based in Norcross in metro Atlanta, is one of the South’s largest nursing home chains, with more than 50…
By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller At least 2.2 million low-income adults — nearly all in Texas and the Southeast — would be eligible for government-funded health insurance under the Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social spending and climate change plan. That’s the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act but…
State officials say “reporting errors’’ from the government led to recent data indicating that Georgia had a stunningly low rate of referring poor kids under Medicaid to specialty medical services. “We’re certainly not below every single state’’ when it comes to referrals, Ryan Loke, deputy commissioner of the Department of Community Health, told the agency’s…