Changes to Georgia’s healthcare system could be coming in 2018.
At the end of October, the Health Care Reform Task Force held its final meeting with local, state, and national experts as it seeks to put together a plan to make the state’s healthcare system sustainable. Now, the task force is preparing its recommendations, and legislation could be proposed in January, when the 2018 legislative session begins.
One of the main problems, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, is that the poorest adults in the state are not covered by Medicaid. Lawmakers voted against the Medicaid expansion provision offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), citing concerns about growing costs down the road.
The task force’s work focused largely on primary and preventive care, and one option for improving access to this care for the underinsured and uninsured may be waivers to the ACA, the Rome News-Tribune reported. There are also two other study committees, one in the House and the Senate, looking at barriers to healthcare access.
A final report from the task force is expected by the end of the year.
