Biden administration blocks Georgia's waiver plan to divert shoppers from ACA website
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference, Aug. 26, 2021, in Marietta, Ga. The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will permanently suspend Gov. Kemp’s Georgia Access Model. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file)
The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will permanently suspend the state’s plan to divert Georgians looking for health insurance away from the official Obamacare website.
The administration had previously suspended the plan temporarily.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Access Model, allowed under Part II of the state’s section 1332 waiver, would have allowed the state to redirect consumers from the official healthcare.gov site to private broker and insurance company sites instead.
The Trump administration green-lit the plan in 2020 to take effect next year, which advocates warned could negatively impact access to the federal insurance marketplace.
The Biden administration reconsidered the plan this year and has accused state officials of not cooperating with document requests, a charge dismissed by Kemp’s office.
Now, the administration says it is suspending the state’s plan permanently — a move Democratic United States Sens. Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff and other Democrats lobbied for.
A spokesperson for Kemp says his office is evaluating its options.
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