State launches ad campaign for Georgia Pathways Medicaid program

ATLANTA – The state agency that runs Georgia Medicaid is going all out to increase enrollment in Gov. Brian Kemp’s limited Medicaid expansion initiative beyond the paltry numbers who signed up during its first year.The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) launched a $10.7 million ad campaign this month to call attention to the Georgia Pathways program, complete with a new website (pathways.georgia.gov) that explains the initiative, who is eligible to sign up, and how to apply.Georgia Pathways provides Medicaid coverage to Georgians with household incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty level, $15,060 for an individual and $31,200 for a family of four. Full-blown Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), which 40 states have adopted, covers those with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level.While Georgia Democrats and health-care advocates have long pushed for full-blown Medicaid expansion, Kemp said the purpose of his more limited program is to transition low-income Georgians from Georgia Pathways to Georgia Access, a program that provides insurance coverage through the private sector.“The goal of Georgia Pathways is not – and has never been – to keep hundreds of thousands of Georgians on government-run health care forever,” the governor said...