The Gainesville Times

By: Joshua Silavent

The debate over whether to expand Medicaid to more low-income individuals and families in Georgia has gained new life this election year as health care is once again a focal point in races for governor and congress. And a new study from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and the University of North Carolina’s NC Rural Health Project reports that residents of small towns and rural areas of Georgia have the most to gain if Medicaid coverage is broadened by significantly reducing uninsured rates. States that expanded Medicaid between 2008-09 and 2015-16 saw more than three times as large a decline in the uninsured rates for low-income citizen adults living in rural areas and small towns than non-expansion states, according to the report. The uninsured rate for this population in these states fell to 16 percent from 35 percent in rural areas and small towns compared to a decline to 38 percent from 43 percent for the same population in Georgia.

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Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate, supports a full expansion of Medicaid and has said it will be her first priority if elected because she believes it is both a “moral and economic imperative,” according to information on her website.

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Republican candidate Brian Kemp, meanwhile, is advocating a more private sector approach to address health care access and costs without expanding Medicaid, which he said will bankrupt the state.

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