South Fulton Today

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock asked Georgia elected officials to expand Medicaid to diminish racial equalities and promote inclusion of all social groups in the healthcare system. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could expand Medicaid healthcare coverage for everyone, regardless of how low their income is, with the new median income state gaps spanning 40% below the federal poverty line, or an $8,800 income for a single caregiver of two children, 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.

With over 2.2 million uninsured adults in poverty, parties in favor of the expansion are calling Warnock and over 60 other civil rights organizations to push forth additional efforts to ensure healthcare benefits for children, essential workers, adults of various ages, and of various races and ethnicities “by creating a federal fallback,” Portside reported. 

 The main challenge presented to cover the gap between social groups is the lack of  the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion adoption on behalf of 12 states, blocking their access to affordable coverage. Portside reported that 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.

A large number of adults do not qualify for subsidized health insurance coverage because they generate income below the poverty line and don’t meet state-enforced requirements for Medicaid. With some incomes as high as 138% of the poverty line, with subsidized marketplace coverage available to those with higher incomes, Portside said.