DREDF Comments on Georgia 1332 Waiver Proposal

September 16, 2020
In August, Georgia completed submission of a Section 1332 “State Innovation” waiver to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, requesting substantial changes to the state’s individual insurance market that would take effect in 2022 if approved. CMS accepted public comment on the submission until September 16. DREDF’s comment speaks against Georgia’s proposal to completely pull out of the federal marketplace without providing any state equivalent for getting unbiased information on finding, comparing and purchasing health insurance. Instead, consumers will have to go through insurance companies and brokers who receive commissions, while short term plans that do not have to meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) standards for comprehensive coverage and limited out-of-pocket costs and deductibles will be sold alongside ACA plans. Georgia’s stated goal for the waiver is to reduce the state’s high number of uninsured individuals, yet the state will not implement Medicaid expansion which would provide the best insurance for currently uninsured individuals. DREDF’s comment highlights how both working and unemployed individuals with disabilities and preexisting conditions and their families will likely be caught in the confusion and reduced choices imposed by Georgia’s waiver proposal, and left uninsured or underinsured.,
September 16, 2020
In August, Georgia completed submission of a Section 1332 “State Innovation” waiver to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, requesting substantial changes to the state’s individual insurance market that would take effect in 2022 if approved. CMS accepted public comment on the submission until September 16. DREDF’s comment speaks against Georgia’s proposal to completely pull out of the federal marketplace without providing any state equivalent for getting unbiased information on finding, comparing and purchasing health insurance. Instead, consumers will have to go through insurance companies and brokers who receive commissions, while short term plans that do not have to meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) standards for comprehensive coverage and limited out-of-pocket costs and deductibles will be sold alongside ACA plans. Georgia’s stated goal for the waiver is to reduce the state’s high number of uninsured individuals, yet the state will not implement Medicaid expansion which would provide the best insurance for currently uninsured individuals. DREDF’s comment highlights how both working and unemployed individuals with disabilities and preexisting conditions and their families will likely be caught in the confusion and reduced choices imposed by Georgia’s waiver proposal, and left uninsured or underinsured.,