Georgia\u2019s Medicaid and PeachCare rolls continue to grow amid the economic devastation from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newly released June enrollment figures show that Medicaid membership grew by 23,000, while PeachCare, the children\u2019s health insurance program in Georgia, saw enrollment rise by nearly 14,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That continues a steady increase in each program, though April\u2019s Medicaid growth was much higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many people have lost jobs and income since the COVID-19 crisis occurred. That, in turn, often leads to a loss of employer-based health insurance. During such tough times, more individuals and their family members wind up enrolled in Medicaid, the federal\/state program for the poor and the disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly 2 million Georgians are currently members of Medicaid and PeachCare \u2013 and most of them are children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enrollment increases almost certainly will have an impact on the state budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial impact on states\u2019 Medicaid programs from higher enrollment was cushioned when early in the COVID pandemic, Congress enacted a temporary 6.2-percentage-point boost in the federal Medicaid matching funds rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation conditioned the higher federal rate on states maintaining pre-COVID Medicaid eligibility standards. The increase and coverage protections will expire when the emergency declaration is lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
States that have expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act are expected to have even bigger increases in enrollees amid the pandemic, because they allow more coverage for low-income adults. Georgia is one of 14 states that have not expanded the program, with the state\u2019s Republican-led government saying the move would be too expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With all the job losses amid the pandemic, Georgia is likely to see a big jump in the number of people who have no health insurance of any kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recent analysis, in fact, estimates that 178,000 Georgians have lost coverage during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n