ATLANTA – The federal agency in charge of Medicaid Tuesday denied Georgia’s application for a waiver to set up the state’s own health insurance marketplace.
The waiver program was a cornerstone of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s approach to reforming health care in the Peach State.
Under Kemp’s model, Georgians would have enrolled in insurance plans through private insurance brokers rather than the federal healthcare.gov health insurance marketplace.
The plan to set up Georgia’s own marketplace system initially gained federal approval under then-President Donald Trump in November 2020.
But after the Biden administration took office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked Georgia to submit a revised plan for the waiver that would reflect new federal policies and rules.
Georgia challenged the HHS findings and did not submit the requested changes to the plan. Kemp argued at the time that the healthcare.gov website was cumbersome and inefficient.
Now, HHS has suspended Georgia’s waiver plan.
A letter Tuesday from Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), outlined some of the problems with the Georgia waiver plan that led the agency to suspend it.
Georgia did not provide the federal government with sufficient information to prove that its plan for health insurance would prevent coverage losses, the letter noted.
Georgia also did not provide HHS enough information about how it planned to communicate about the new marketplace and engage underserved populations. The program was not yet ready to go live, according to the federal letter.
“Consumers in Georgia will continue to use HealthCare.gov, which CMS will operate, to purchase individual health insurance coverage for 2023,” a CMS spokeswoman said.
She also noted that Georgia could still submit a corrective action plan that would allow the state to implement the plan in the future.
“We’re evaluating our options based on CMS’ decision,” said Katie Byrd, a spokeswoman for Kemp.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock praised the move.
“Permanently suspending the state’s harmful Section 1332 waiver will ensure that Georgians will be able to keep purchasing affordable health care coverage,” Warnock said Tuesday. “This will save lives and save families money.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Judge Robert McBurney (photo credit: Fulton County Superior Court)
ATLANTA – Lawyers for abortion-rights groups asked a state judge Monday to temporarily block Georgia’s new abortion law.
The law – which bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected – took effect in July. Initially approved by the General Assembly in 2019, it had been under legal challenge in federal courts. Last month, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Georgia law and put it into effect immediately.
Lawyers for abortion-rights groups including Planned Parenthood Southeast and SisterSong then took their fight to state court, contending that the abortion ban violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy.
They argued the law was void from the moment it passed the General Assembly three years ago because it violated then-settled U.S. Supreme Court precedent about the right to an abortion.
The state – represented by Solicitor General Stephen Petrany – countered that Georgia law does not require a judge to temporarily block a law before he or she has issued a decision on the case.
Although the 2019 law did not necessarily fit the Supreme Court’s abortion precedents at the time, the Georgia abortion law represented legislators’ – and through them, Georgians’ – will, Petrany said. Therefore, it was valid from the start.
McBurney indicated he would issue a ruling on the request for an injunction soon.
In a brief press conference after the hearing, abortion-rights advocates said Georgians have been directly harmed by the new abortion ban.
“The Georgia Constitution says there is a right to privacy and that right to privacy extends to a person’s body and a person’s health,” said Susan Lambiase, a lawyer for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“[People] either have to forcibly remain pregnant, or they have to figure out a way … to go to some state that provides more access [to abortion].”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
The disease has spread across the country to the point that the Biden administration declared monkeypox a national public health emergency last week.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes the skin to break out into painful lesions and is also accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, exhaustion, and muscle aches.
Since the first cases were reported in the United States a few months ago, scientific understanding of how it spreads has evolved.
“The monkeypox virus can spread from person to person through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids,” said Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health (DPH). “It also can be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex.”
“Touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids is another way monkeypox spreads but has not been identified to be a common mode of transmission in this outbreak or for monkeypox in general,” Nydam added.
According to the CDC, 7,510 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States.
The Jynneos vaccine can help prevent monkeypox. The vaccination requires two doses 28 days apart.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated 1.1 million doses of the vaccine to send to states. Around 600,000 have been shipped already, according to the agency.
Georgia has been allocated about 50,000, according to the HHS.
Not all of the doses have yet reached the state due to federal rules about vaccine distribution and transit times, Nydam said.
So far, almost all of the cases in the United States have been identified in men who have sex with men, according to a CDC briefing last month.
DPH has distributed the vaccines across Georgia, including to county health departments and community organizations, Nydam said.
Jeff Graham, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Georgia Equality, praised the outreach work being done by county health departments and community groups. But he said those efforts won’t be truly effective without more resources and better coordination from the DPH.
“The state must show more leadership on a coordinated approach to ensuring that vaccine distribution is equitable around the state, and they need to provide better data concerning folks contracting monkeypox and those receiving the vaccine,” Graham said. “Also, adequate funding for the community outreach of whatever the state’s plan is will be a critical component of an adequate response.”
Advocates warn that though the disease is concentrated so far among gay men, it’s important that the larger community pay attention because the disease affects everyone.
“We can’t stigmatize disease,” said Dafina Ward, executive director of the Southern AIDS Coalition. “What we can’t do is recreate the misinformation and shaming that so many experienced early on in the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”
Ward said that though monkeypox can be spread by sexual contact, it is not solely a sexually transmitted disease.
For that reason, everyone should be concerned, Ward said.
“Monkeypox does not care about a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” she said. “Every community needs access to testing, vaccine, and treatment.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – A federal court ruled Friday that Georgia’s unusual system for electing members of the state Public Service Commission (PSC) violates the federal Voting Rights Act and must be changed because it dilutes the Black vote.
Under Georgia’s current system, commissioners run statewide but must live in one of five districts.
The PSC regulates the state’s public utilities and sets utility rates.
The General Assembly amended Georgia law in 1998 so that each commissioner had to reside in one of five districts. This year, lawmakers redrew the boundaries of voting districts in Georgia – including the five PSC districts – to reflect new census numbers.
A group of prominent Black leaders who vote in those districts sued the state, claiming that the Black vote had been diluted.
The plaintiffs include Richard Rose, the president of the NAACP’s Atlanta chapter; Wanda Mosley, the national field director at the Black Voters Matter Fund (based in Atlanta); James Woodall, a former president of the NAACP Georgia chapter; and Brionté McCorkle, president of Georgia Conservation Voters.
The court agreed with the challengers, finding that the redrawing of the boundaries of PSC Districts 2 and 3 diluted the Black vote. Those are the two commission seats on the statewide ballot in November.
PSC District 3, which includes parts of Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties, was 52.02% Black, but under the redrawn maps the Black population dropped to 48.79%, the ruling stated.
Friday’s ruling prohibits Georgia Secretary of States Brad Raffensperger from preparing ballots for the November election for the PSC District 2 and 3 races.
The court is postponing the the election until the General Assembly approves a different method of electing commissioners and the court approves the new plan.
“The Court’s decision today vindicates what we have advocated for two years: Georgia’s statewide method of electing Public Service Commissioners unlawfully dilutes the votes of Black Georgians,” said Nicolas Martinez, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
“This ruling immediately impacts how millions of Georgians will elect those powerful officials who determine how much everyday folks must pay for basic utilities. It is one of the most important decisions to advance voting rights in a generation,” Martinez said.
The secretary of state’s office, which has 30 days to appeal Friday’s decision, could not immediately be reached for comment.
PSC spokesman Tom Krause said the commissioners have no comment on the case.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Richard DeShields testifies about his journey from homelessness to housing at a Senate committee meeting on Thursday.
ATLANTA – A state Senate study committee began work Thursday trying to find ways to help homeless Georgians living on the streets.
Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, the committee’s chairman, made waves earlier this year when he sponsored a bill that would have criminalized street camping.
But on Thursday, Summers emphasized that criminalization is no longer being considered and he is focused on solutions.
“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue,” he said. “This issue is an issue to make Georgia a better place and to help folks that need help. That’s what we’re here for.”
“Criminalization is off the table,” Summers repeated several times.
The committee is focused on the “unsheltered” homeless population – that is, people without permanent housing living on the streets, in the woods, and in other places not meant for human habitation.
The number of homeless people in Georgia appears to have declined over the past decade, said Christopher Nunn, commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs.
The most recent data, from 2019, showed about 3,880 unsheltered homeless people in the state. Nunn said a new count conducted earlier this year will likely show an uptick over the 2019 level but is still far below where the homeless population stood a decade ago.
One major driver of homelessness is increased housing costs in Georgia, both in Atlanta and in more rural areas. That makes it harder for people to pay rent – even when they are receiving housing assistance.
Nunn said there are currently around 970 households in Georgia who hold a federal housing voucher but cannot find a landlord.
“Supply and affordability are inextricably linked with homelessness,” Nunn said.
About one-third of homeless Georgians live in Atlanta, said Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for Home, the lead agency for homelessness in Atlanta.
In an older approach to addressing homelessness, people who needed medical or mental services were asked to get those services first, to get “ready” for housing, said Vassell.
But today’s best practices focus on providing housing first, Vassell said. This allows people some stability as they tackle other issues they may face, like mental illness or finding a job, she said. The additional supports help prevent many people from returning to homelessness.
Vassell said the housing-first approach is also more cost effective than short-term housing solutions or continued homelessness. She said the organization has also partnered with private funders and developers to build additional supportive housing units.
Partners for Home has had success in getting people in Atlanta into temporary housing and often permanent housing.
But some see the housing-first model as too permissive.
Judge Glock, senior director of policy and research at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argued that people who are getting housing assistance should be required to meet certain standards, such as sobriety.
If homeless people are unable or do not want to meet those requirements, structured tent encampments are a good alternative, he said. They are safe and can provide sanitation facilities and clean water, he said.
But Richard DeShields, who recently started living in an apartment after years of homelessness, said the tent encampment model would not have worked for him.
DeShields’ life unraveled after his wife and child died in a house fire. He ended up homeless, withdrawn from the world and living in the bushes in a city park.
“I would not have wanted to be in a camp around a lot of people,” DeShields said. He was in such a dark place, he could not stand to be around others, he said.
DeShields said when he was offered temporary housing on a cold night and started to get some social support services, he finally began to put his life back together, though it was a slow process.
DeShields said the support of case managers was a key in his journey to an apartment from the streets.
“You can’t do it by yourself,” he said. “You have to have someone who can hold you. … It takes everybody in Georgia to help bring someone who is homeless up.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
