Summary Expanding Medicaid in Georgia Would Help Uninsured People Gain Coverage
Michael Simpson, Jessica Banthin
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Georgia is one of the 10 states that have yet to expand Medicaid eligibility as allowed under the Affordable Care Act, and uninsurance remains a problem in the state. In this summary, we expand results from an earlier report on Medicaid expansion in those 10 states to show detailed estimates for Georgia, including health insurance coverage changes overall and by people’s income level, age, race and ethnicity, sex, and area of residence.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Understanding expected coverage increases and spending changes under Medicaid expansion helps policymakers and stakeholders assess the expansion option.

WHAT WE FOUND

  • Uninsurance among the nonelderly in Georgia would fall by nearly 300,000 people under Medicaid expansion. Around 28 percent of uninsured people would gain health coverage.
  • Medicaid enrollment in Georgia would increase by 671,000 people, with about 300,000 people switching from nongroup coverage to Medicaid and about 69,000 people switching from employer-sponsored insurance to Medicaid.
  • People near poverty, young people aged 19 to 34, Black non-Hispanic people, and American Indians would be more likely than average to gain coverage.

HOW WE DID IT

We used the Urban Institute's Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to simulate the effects of Medicaid expansion on health insurance coverage and government spending.
Research and Evidence Health Policy Technology and Data
Expertise Social Safety Net Health Care Coverage, Access, and Affordability Federal and State Health Care Reform Medicare and Medicaid Microsimulation Modeling
Research Methods Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model (HIPSM) Microsimulation modeling
Tags Affordable Care Act Federal health care reform Health care spending and costs Health insurance Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program 
States Georgia
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