South Gwinnett News

 U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock urged Georgia elected officials to expand Medicaid for older state residents and home health care workers.

The Supreme Court ruled states could choose whether to expand Medicaid, which created a coverage gap for people with incomes below the poverty line in Georgia and 11 other states that haven’t done so, Portside reported. 

"This week’s @SenateAging hearing reaffirmed just how important Medicaid expansion is to our older Georgians, as well as home health care workers. I’m urging Georgia state leaders to take the necessary steps to implement this commonsense measure,” Warnock said in a Tweet.

Adults in the coverage gap have incomes below the poverty line, which is too low to qualify for subsidized health insurance coverage in the ACA marketplaces, yet they don’t qualify for Medicaid under their states’ rules, Portside reported. 

Closing the Medicaid coverage gap would help diverse groups and narrow racial disparities, Portside said. 

More than 2.2 million citizens form part of the uninsured gap, including parents caring for children, essential workers, adults of various ages, and of various races and ethnicities. Those below poverty generate too little income to be considered for subsidized health insurance coverage in the ACA marketplaces and also don’t qualify under state-mandated Medicaid requirements, Portside reported.

Though currently policies deem health insurance coverage in the ACA marketplaces unattainable for Americans living in poverty, the extended Medicaid coverage would help all adults over 138% below the poverty line. Subsidized markets will be available to individuals with higher incomes, Portside reports.