The state has launched an ad campaign to raise awareness of Medicaid eligibility redetermination.
ATLANTA – Nearly 100,000 Georgians have lost Medicaid coverage since the federal public health emergency brought on by the pandemic expired in April, the state Department of Community Health (DCH) reported Thursday.
The federal government prohibited disenrolling any Medicaid recipients for three years after COVID-19 struck the nation in March 2020. With the public health emergency at an end, states began a year-long process of reassessing eligibility for those on Medicaid this spring.
Georgia began processing renewal applications for 216,991 Georgians in June for Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids. At the close of the month, 64,423 of these Georgians were renewed while 95,578 lost coverage.
Nearly 57,000 renewal applications remain pending and will retain coverage while those recipients’ eligibility is determined.
The vast majority of those who lost coverage – 89,168 – were procedurally terminated due to lack of information received by the DCH to make an eligibility determination.
In April, the state agency estimated that about half a million Georgians were newly enrolled in Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids during the pandemic, bringing the total number of enrollees to about 2.7 million, about a quarter of the state’s population.
The state was able to automatically renew 50,607 Georgia Medicaid enrollees last month by using available data on those recipients, including data from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – commonly known as food stamps – or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Those who could not be renewed automatically received renewal packets from the DCH. As of June 30, the agency had received more than 46,000 completed packets.
The state also contacted affected Medicaid enrollees through other means, including phone calls and text messages at 30 and 15 days before their “redetermination” deadline.
Working with other state agencies, the DCH launched a statewide public information campaign including TV and radio ads in English and Spanish, social media outreach, digital advertising, bus shelter signs, billboards, and media outreach.
The DCH plans to complete the redetermination process for all of Georgia’s Medicaid enrollees by the end of May 2024.
However, the State has data that over 20,000 of the individuals procedurally terminated would no longer have been eligible due to increased income, aging out of coverage, moving out of state, or other factors. The Medicaid redetermination process is the result of Congress passing a December 2022 federal spending bill officially requiring all states to review Medicaid and CHIP eligibility between April 2023 and May 2024. Ex Parte Renewals: The State was able to automatically renew 50,607 of the individuals with June renewal dates through the ex parte process of using the members’ available data, including data from programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This process requires no action from members and these members did not receive a renewal packet. Pre-Populated Form Renewals: For those who were not automatically renewed, Georgia sent redetermination packets to 169,442 individuals in May. These individuals had until the end of June to provide the State with updated information to retain their coverage. As of June 30, the State received over 46,000 completed packets. The Georgia Department of Human Services sends all Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® members a renewal notice via mail and/or electronic method based on an individual’s preference about 45 days before their redetermination deadline. Individuals also receive a reminder letter 15 days before their redetermination deadline. The State has also undertaken efforts to contact individuals through other means, including phone calls and SMS text messages at 30 and 15 days before their redetermination deadline. Care Management Organizations (CMOs) are also partnering with the State to conduct additional outreach. Any individual who had their renewal packet returned to the State due to a bad address is held as pending until additional outreach can be completed. In addition to these ongoing efforts, since September 2022, the Georgia Department of Community Health, Georgia Department of Human Services, and State of Georgia partners have been working to educate and mobilize Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® members through a statewide public information campaign that includes TV and radio ads in English and Spanish, social media outreach, digital advertising, bus shelter signage, billboards, media outreach, regular partner briefings, informational videos, and resources in seven languages.
2 Continuity of Coverage: Medicaid coverage continues while renewals are processed, even if processing continues beyond the renewal date. Members can submit updated proof of eligibility up to 90 days after their termination date. If they are determined eligible, their coverage will be retroactively reinstated. Members who feel they have been denied due to incorrect information, or for another reason, can appeal a denial up to 30 days after they receive their redetermination decision and elect to retain their coverage during the appeals process. Unwinding To Date: Since the beginning of the Medicaid redetermination process in April 2023, approximately 71,000 Georgians have renewed Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids® coverage. Nearly 63,000 individuals have pending decisions and will retain coverage while their eligibility is determined. More information on all options available to members can be found on the State’s official microsite for Medicaid redetermination www.staycovered.ga.gov.
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections fell slightly last month compared to June of last year, but the state closed out fiscal 2023 with a huge surplus for the third year in a row.
The Georgia Department of Revenue brought in $2.84 billion in taxes in June, down 0.4% from the same month a year ago. However, the $33.13 billion in receipts into the state’s coffers for the full 12 months of the last fiscal year far exceeded the $28.4 billion revenue estimate Gov. Brian Kemp made in January, generating a surplus of nearly $4.8 billion.
Individual income taxes last month were down 12.6% compared to June of last year, largely due to a 53.6% increase in refunds issued to Georgia taxpayers.
Net sales tax collections went the other way, increasing by 4%, not enough to offset the decrease in income taxes.
Corporate income tax receipts declined by 14.7%, as refunds issued to Georgia businesses soared by 458.6%.
Still, the year-end budget surplus is sure to touch off a debate over what to do with the money. Kemp pledged to take a conservative approach.
“The governor looks forward to working closely with the General Assembly on priorities for how the state’s one-time funds will be utilized in a strategic, fiscally responsible way that does not commit short-term revenue gains to long-term obligations,” Kemp’s office wrote Wednesday in a statement emailed to Capitol Beat.
Kemp has used budget surpluses the last two years to fund state income tax cuts that were enthusiastically supported by legislative Republicans.
But opponents have argued that most of those cuts have gone to benefit upper-income Georgians, while the state continues to inadequately fund government services for those who are less well off.
“State leaders have an obligation to respond to long-standing deficits across public education, access to health care and economic mobility, yet they are actively choosing to leave billions on the table to accrue increasingly large reserves for no clear purpose,” said Danny Kanso, senior fiscal analyst for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
Georgia voters reelected Kemp to a second term last November after the governor pledged on the campaign trail to back a $1 billion state income tax rebate and pay raises for teachers and state employees. The General Assembly’s Republican majority approved both measures during this year’s legislative session.
ATLANTA – Kia will invest more than $200 million and create nearly 200 jobs at its West Point plant to produce the Korean automaker’s new electric vehicle sports-utility model, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday.
The EV9 will become the fifth model to be assembled at the Georgia plant since it opened in 2009, joining the Telluride, the Sorento and Sportage SUVs, and the K5 mid-size sedan. More than 40% of Kia vehicles sold in the U.S. are manufactured in West Point.
“Georgia’s longstanding partnership with Kia has led to generational job creation and growth for the West Point area,” Kemp said. “This project will both bring more opportunity to hardworking Georgians and help propel the state toward our goal of becoming the e-mobility capital.”
“Like Telluride, EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia,” added Sean Yoon, president & CEO of Kia Motors North America and Kia Motors America. “This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road.”
To date, Kia has invested more than $1.9 billion in the Peach State, and Kia Georgia is responsible for more than 14,000 plant and supplier jobs in the region.
Meanwhile, two larger electric vehicle investments are taking shape elsewhere in Georgia. Hyundai is building a $5.5 billion plant west of Savannah – the biggest economic development project in the state’s history – that will generate 8,100 jobs.
Rivian has under construction a $5 billion EV plant in the Covington area that is expected to create 7,500 jobs.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team worked on the Kia EV project with the West Point Development Authority, the city of West Point, Troup County, the Georgia Center of Innovation’s manufacturing and energy teams, and the Technical College System of Georgia’s Quick Start program.
The EV9 plant is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of next year.
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – A voter mobilization group chaired by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is looking for a few good candidates to run in this year’s municipal election.
Greater Georgia announced its first-ever candidate recruitment program Wednesday ahead of the November elections, focused on identifying and recruiting a class of qualified conservative candidates.
“In Georgia and across the country, the Left is organizing to take control of cities and counties by recruiting candidates to carry out a dangerous progressive agenda,” Loeffler said. “This year, Greater Georgia is going on offense with a program designed to recruit top-tier candidates and empower them with the tools to run and win.”
Greater Georgia will target open and toss-up seats in cities across the state, including races for mayor and city council. Those interested in running for local office can learn more about the program at https://www.greatergeorgia.com/recruitment.
The candidate qualifying period begins on Aug. 21. Municipal elections will take place Nov. 7.
Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Brian Kemp in January 2020 after the retirement of Sen. Johnny Isakson, who died late the following year. The Republican lost her bid to win a full term to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff in January 2021.
ATLANTA – A Washington, D.C.-based group chaired by longtime Republican activist Bill Kristol is doubling down on an ad campaign taking former President Donald Trump to task for his handling of classified documents.
The Republican Accountability Project (RAP) launched a $500,000 ad campaign this week airing on Fox News and CNN in swing states including Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin, as well as nationally on digital platforms. The new campaign brings the group’s spending thus far to $2 million.
The ad features Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, accusing Trump of disregarding national security by keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“We don’t know who saw them, but we have to assume these documents were compromised,” Hayden says in the ad. “Trump must face consequences for his actions.”
Trump was indicted last month on seven counts including obstruction of justice, destruction or falsification of records, conspiracy and false statements, the first time in U.S. history a former president has faced federal charges. He also is accused under the Espionage Act.
With Trump holding a huge lead in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, his lawyers are seeking to delay the trial under after the election.
“General Hayden has dedicated his life to keeping America safe,” RAP Director Sarah Longwell said. “If there is an anyone who knows just how dangerous Trump’s actions were, it’s him. And we are going to make sure the American people know that, too.”
This week’s ad is the fourth RAP has released detailing Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Trump also was indicted in New York in April on charges of falsifying business records, while a grand jury was selected Tuesday in Fulton County to hear testimony on his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia that saw Joe Biden carry the Peach State, the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Bill Clinton in 1992.
