About 350,000 fewer Georgians are receiving health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchanges this year, a 27% decrease in enrollment just months after the expiration of subsidies that helped keep the cost of plans low.
Georgia U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were among the Democrats who fought to extend the subsidies, triggering the longest complete government shutdown in history last fall. They say they warned Republicans that, without the subsidies, Georgians would lose insurance. Now there is proof.
“This should surprise no one,” Ossoff said. “This is exactly what they were warned would happen. People would lose their health insurance.”
Warnock said he worries the system will be burdened by people who no longer have health insurance but still need care.
“That’s going to put a lot of pressure on those families, and it’s going to put a lot of pressure on our health care systems, particularly our rural health care systems,” he said.
The drop in Affordable Care Act exchange enrollment was first reported by the Georgia Recorder and The Current GA.
Republicans said they hadn’t had a chance to review the numbers. However, they also said the decline in covered Georgians doesn’t necessarily mean anything is afoul or even that the loss of subsidies was to blame.
These lawmakers pointed to other possible explanations, such as stricter standards and better oversight causing people to lose eligibility or being removed from the rolls. They also said people may have obtained private coverage through their employers.
“I don’t know that it’s cause for concern,” said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a St. Simons Island Republican who is running for Ossoff’s Senate seat. “It might be cause for celebration. It might be that they’re going on to plans that they should be on anyway.”
Another Ossoff challenger, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, said the Affordable Care Act was flawed from the beginning and Congress should be looking for solutions elsewhere instead of propping up the exchanges.
“If you have a system that is not usable and not worth having, why have it?” Collins, R-Jackson, said. “Because the end of the day, we’re trying to get people insurance.”
During the debate on ending the government shutdown, Republicans in Congress insisted on passing government funding legislation that did not include language extending the COVID-era subsidies. They expired at the end of the year, causing many people who purchase insurance on the ACA exchanges to be quoted higher premiums for 2026 coverage.
Republican state Sen. Ben Watson, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said he hasn’t seen data on where people have turned to since dropping coverage but some will likely go uninsured. Others will find coverage elsewhere, such as joining a spouse’s plan or switching to an employer-provided health insurance plan, he said.
“In the state of Georgia, if you choose not to have insurance, that’s your choice,” he said. “I disagree with it. I think everybody should have insurance, but there is absolutely no reason in the state of Georgia for anyone not to have insurance unless you just plain don’t sign up.”
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