ATLANTA – The federal company in command of Medicaid on Tuesday denied Georgia’s utility for a waiver to arrange the state’s personal medical insurance market.
The waiver program was a cornerstone of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s strategy to reforming well being care within the Peach State.
Below Kemp’s mannequin, Georgians would have enrolled in insurance policy by non-public insurance coverage brokers moderately than the federal healthcare.gov medical insurance market.
The plan to arrange Georgia’s personal market system initially gained federal approval below then-President Donald Trump in November 2020.
However after the Biden administration took workplace, the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) requested Georgia to submit a revised plan for the waiver that will mirror new federal insurance policies and guidelines.
Georgia challenged the HHS findings and didn’t submit the requested modifications to the plan. Kemp argued on the time that the healthcare.gov web site was cumbersome and inefficient.
Now, HHS has suspended Georgia’s waiver plan.
A letter Tuesday from Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the company’s Middle for Medicare and Medicaid Providers (CMS), outlined a few of the issues with the Georgia waiver plan that led the company to droop it.
Georgia didn’t present the federal authorities with enough data to show that its plan for medical insurance would stop protection losses, the letter famous.
Georgia additionally didn’t present HHS sufficient details about the way it deliberate to speak concerning the new market and have interaction underserved populations. This system was not but able to go reside, based on the federal letter.
“Customers in Georgia will proceed to make use of HealthCare.gov, which CMS will function, to buy particular person medical insurance protection for 2023,” a CMS spokeswoman stated.
She additionally famous that Georgia might nonetheless submit a corrective motion plan that will permit the state to implement the plan sooner or later.
“We’re evaluating our choices based mostly on CMS’ choice,” stated Katie Byrd, a spokeswoman for Kemp.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock praised the transfer.
“Completely suspending the state’s dangerous Part 1332 waiver will be certain that Georgians will be capable to preserve buying inexpensive well being care protection,” Warnock stated Tuesday. “This can save lives and save households cash.”
This story is on the market by a information partnership with Capitol Beat Information Service, a mission of the Georgia Press Instructional Basis.
