by Ty Tagami | Sep 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The private health information of more than 900 Medicaid recipients in Georgia may have been exposed in July, according to a state contractor.
Gainwell Technologies, the fiscal agent for Medicaid in Georgia, disclosed the incident Friday, saying an unauthorized caller gained access to a reimbursement account and was able to view payment information.
The caller wanted to access payments to providers, the company said through a spokesperson.
“There is no indication that the caller attempted to access individual member accounts; however, the caller was able to view billing statements that included the names, Medicaid member IDs, coverage and payment information for claims and date ranges for when services were provided under Georgia Medicaid,” the company said in a statement.
Social Security numbers were not disclosed in the July 23 incident, the statement said.
Gainwell contracts with the state Department of Community Health. A department spokesperson could not be reached for comment Friday.
Gainwell said it is not aware of any misuse of personal information but is offering free credit monitoring for a year to those affected. The company said it notified 912 Medicaid members whose protected health information might have been disclosed.
Anyone who received a notification letter can call IDX, the identity theft protection service that Gainwell is providing, at 1-833-788-9712.
by Ty Tagami | Sep 25, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — For a dozen years in a row now, Georgia has ranked at the top of an economic development magazine’s listing of the best states for doing business.
In a new report, Area Development Magazine cites affordable housing, reliable child care and transportation as key determinants for the state’s consecutive run atop its charts.
“Executives are asking not just where they can find talent, but where that talent can live and thrive,” said the trade journal, explaining what helped buoy the state’s ranking. The measure is seen as a marker of a state’s attractiveness to growing companies that can bring new jobs.
The new rankings came out a week after an August jobs report from the state Department of Labor. The Sept. 18 state release showed nearly five million employed, with unemployment basically unchanged from July.
Area Development Magazine’s rankings are based on a survey of consultants who help companies choose where to locate. They considered numerous factors, including permitting ease, workforce training, climate risks, taxes, business incentives, reliable energy infrastructure, support for technology innovation, and business-friendly policies.
Southern states led the list, with Georgia ahead of South Carolina, Texas and North Carolina. Ohio ranked fifth, followed by four more states in the South, with Michigan rounding out the top 10.
Gov. Brian Kemp credited Georgia’s ranking to a “team approach” to economic development with the legislature and local leaders.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce credited teamwork between elected officials and the business community, with President and CEO Chris Clark calling Georgia the “economic envy of the nation.”
The magazine said that the criteria are changing. Tax credits and cheap land are no longer the sole selling point as access to energy, water and housing becoming crucial.
Long-term environmental resilience will be key, too, the publication said, as insurers evaluate risk of flooding, fire, extreme heat or drought. “Expect more companies to weigh climate risk and water access with growing seriousness,” the publication said, adding that Georgia is a leader in that category.
by Ty Tagami | Sep 25, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia’s unique approach to Medicaid was set to expire this month, but the state just got a one-year extension from the federal government.
The Pathways to Coverage program, which requires recipients to prove that they work, volunteer or take classes 80 hours a month, will now run through 2026, with modifications intended to increase the number of people who are covered.
As of May, 23 months into the program, there were 7,463 enrolled, well short of the state’s initial projections of 47,000, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services observed in its extension notice to the Georgia Department of Community Health Tuesday.
To “streamline” compliance and expand coverage, Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration asked for and received permission to amend the program. Rather than requiring recipients to report monthly about their work and other qualifying activities, they will report annually.
And two new qualifying categories were added: parents of children under age 6 do not have to work or engage in other activities if the child is enrolled in Medicaid; and childless, able-bodied adults can meet the requirements by complying with other programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Kemp’s office said the extension “further validates” Georgia’s approach to Medicaid, which will soon be a requirement in every state under new federal law.
A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that Georgia spent two-thirds of implementation costs on administration rather than on medical assistance, with more than half of the $80 million going to contractors.
Kemp blamed the administration of then-President Joe Biden for driving up costs by obstructing implementation. Kemp praised President Donald Trump.
“Unlike the previous administration which chose to sue, obstruct, and delay, President Trump and his team have worked alongside us to improve Georgia Pathways and ultimately deliver a better program to Georgians who need it most,” Kemp said in a statement Thursday. “We look forward to continuing that partnership in the months ahead.”
by Ty Tagami | Sep 24, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia health officials are monitoring seven people for measles after they came in contact with infected people.
The state Department of Public Health said Tuesday it had confirmed three new measles cases, including one on Sept. 11.
“Two of the individuals are unvaccinated, and the third has an unknown vaccination status. They are isolating at home,” the agency said in a statement.
The statement said 268 close contacts had been identified but only seven are enrolled in “active” monitoring. The agency said the best protection against measles is vaccination and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children receive their first dose of vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age and a second dose between ages 4 and 6.
The three new measles cases bring the total to 10 in Georgia this year, up from six last year.
Measles is a highly infections disease, but it was declared eliminated in the Unted States in 2020, meaning there was no spread within the country and new cases developed only after travel abroad.
But infections started climbing during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 49 cases in 2021 and 121 in 2022. Infections fell to 59 in 2023 but then started rising sharply last year.
In April, State Epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek updated the state board of health about a surge in measles infections in West Texas. “Every single one is a public health emergency,” she said at that briefing.
Last week, a group called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended to the CDC that toddlers through age 3 be immunized for varicella (chickenpox) through standalone vaccination rather than through the combination measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine.
But the recommendation caused a reaction by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which still recommends the combined MMRV vaccine. The organization’s president, Dr. Susan J. Kressly, said in a statement that the committee “promoted false claims and misguided information about vaccines as part of an unprecedented effort to limit access to routine childhood immunizations and sow fear and mistrust in vaccines.”
The Georgia Department of Public health advised parents to consult with their doctor or health care provider about the best vaccination for their children.
by Ty Tagami | Sep 24, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Metro Atlanta voters will head to the polls again in November to fill another vacancy in the Georgia Senate, after Democrat Jason Esteves resigned his seat this month.
Esteves, a former Atlanta school board member who was first elected to the Senate in 2022, resigned from the District 35 post on Sept. 10 to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.
He was re-elected without opposition in November, and voters in his Senate district in Cobb and Fulton counties will be invited back to the polls Nov. 18 to name a successor, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said Wednesday.
A runoff, if necessary, will be held Dec. 16. Candidate qualifying will occur Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, with absentee voting starting Oct. 27.
Voters in Cherokee and Fulton counties went to the polls Tuesday to select a successor for another vacant post, naming Republican Jason Dickerson to the Senate District 21 seat that Brandon Beach vacated after President Donald Trump appointed him U.S. Treasurer in March.
