Gov. Deal Calls on Congress to Reexamine Affordable Care Act

“Not necessarily to repeal it but to know there are deficiencies that are there that are recognizable.”

Deal says one of those deficiencies is a coverage gap which affects some low-income residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to receive tax credits to help them afford coverage under healthcare exchanges.

“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for someone to be eligible for a subsidy to buy private health insurance and yet some people who are below that income level to have no assistance at all from the federal government, and the answer to say you can put them on the state’s Medicaid rolls is not a satisfactory answer.” 

A Kaiser Family Foundation report says the gap exists because of Georgia’s decision not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. According to the foundation, because of the decision more than 400,000 Georgians could remain uninsured next year.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the healthcare law but allowed states to choose whether to opt-out of Medicaid expansion. Deal decided against the expansion, saying Georgia couldn’t afford it. But if the healthcare law is changed Deal says…

“I am not inclined to change my mind at this point in time. This is a changing landscape however. I think Congress is going to be forced to reexamine the issue. I think they very well could be forced to set different parameters for eligibility, for either federal assistance or perhaps even the Medicaid program itself.”

Currently, 30 states support the law, 16 oppose it and 5 are weighing their options.