8 in 10 Georgians want health insurance subsidies kept

Americans are very divided on major issues, as are Georgians. But there is one thing we agree on- our citizens need healthcare insurance, as will be discussed below, examining polling data. 

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to even understand our non-system of health insurance. So first, let’s understand how Americans are covered now, including- government programs (34%), employer provided (51%) and privately obtained insurance (6%). Of the 34% public programs, 16% is Medicaid/CHIP and 19% Medicare (does not add due to rounding). That leaves 8% without insurance nationally, 26 million people uninsured in the wealthiest nation on earth (https://statehealthcompare.shadac.org/table/11/health-insurance-coverage-type-by-total?clean=False#1,12/5,4,1,10,86,9,8,6/76/21,22 ).

In Georgia, the figures are somewhat different- public/government programs (30%) and employer provided/ privately obtained insurance (59%). Of the 30% public programs, 14% is Medicaid/CHIP and 17% Medicare (does not add due to rounding). The uninsured figure is much higher for Georgia (11%) due to large part to political decisions by our Governor and General Assembly regarding Medicaid expansion that has resulted in 1.2 million uninsured, the third highest figure in the nation.

A recent survey found that an astounding 88% of Georgians surveyed believed it to be “important” or “very important” for residents to have insurance coverage; even 78% of Trump voters agreed (https://pup-advocacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Georgia-Poll-Shows-Wide-Support-for-Extending-Healthcare-Premium-Tax-Credits.pdf?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TheMorningJolt&utm_content=15275088).

Which leads us to the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare), passed in 2010 under Obama, and resulting in a major drop in the level of uninsurance in the nation. It expanded Medicaid, plus did way with pre-existing condition exclusions and coverage caps in private insurance, and established maximum out-of-pocket ceilings. 

The ACA also mandated that everyone buy their own insurance (although there was no real penalty) via the ACA Marketplaces. And there were exclusions for citizens whose insurance payments would exceed 8% of their income and those in Medicaid non-expansion states, like Georgia. Plus, subsidies were to be given to some households (those between 100% to 400% of the poverty level) based on income. Additional subsidies were enacted during the pandemic.

During Covid, the Biden Administration overspent via the obviously misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, contributing to unbearable inflation… and the Democrats 2024 loss to a convicted felon who tried to overthrow our government. But some of their IRA/ARPA spending was popular, particularly the supposedly temporary Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies that covered people with substantial incomes.

Tens of millions of Americans obtained insurance due to these subsidies, which have now been in place for many years. It was these very subsidies that were done away with under Trump’s 2025 Big Beautiful Bill (BBB).

So, what do Georgians think about these tax credit subsidies for privately purchased health insurance? An astounding 82% of voters support the concept, including 71% of GOP voters and 77% of independents. Plus, 72% believe that they should be continued versus letting them expire, including most Republicans. And, if a GOP candidate running against Senator Ossoff supports letting the credits expire, nearly half of Georgians (47%) are “less likely to support” that candidate. 

The GOP has gotten itself in a bind. These subsidies are very costly, and the BBB is already projected to be raising the deficit by $3.4 trillion due to the ill-advised tax cuts it made permanent (https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/what-does-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-cost/ ). And neither the Senate nor House, both Republican controlled, supported extension of the subsidies, so they went away causing premiums to raise through the roof for many Georgians. 

America’s current system of healthcare financing is incredibly complicated… overly so, due to the financial influence that Big Pharma and Big Insurance have on legislators in both parties. Other nations have simpler systems with better outcomes, delivered at a much lower cost (https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/health-policy-101-international-comparison-of-health-systems/ ). One study indicates Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are much better than the USA and cover all citizens. Why not take the best of each of their systems, cutting out Big Pharma and Big Insurance?

In the short-term, the rise in premium cost will hurt the GOP in 2026 and 2028. But the question that remains is will our Washington politicians in either party ever attempt true reform of our healthcare financing system versus simply throwing more public funds into buying private insurance?

Note: This is an opinion article as designated by the the category placement on this website. It is not news coverage. If this disclaimer is funny to you, it isn’t aimed at you — but some of your friends and neighbors honestly have trouble telling the difference.