[AUDIO] King Proposed “Bringing A Marketplace To Georgia” To “Make Sure That Every Georgian Has Access To Affordable Health Care Coverage.” “Meanwhile, we'll tackle on some big challenges redoing our state, getting out of the Affordable Care Act out of Washington, and bringing a marketplace to Georgia that we run to make sure that we every Georgian, has access to affordable health care coverage and also started tackling the abuses in our civil justice forums.” [Regulatory Oversight Podcast, 1/8/25]
[VIDEO] King Touted The Success Of His Georgia Access Program And Claimed That It Out-Performed The Federal Government. “I'm incredibly proud of our work has been our team has accomplished this year, especially the closing and opening of health, open enrollment. We travel from, across the state, informing Georgians about the resources available through our office in Georgia Access. As a result, we signed to more than 1.5 million Georgians, signed up with private health insurance coverage, breaking all records across the nation and even outperforming the federal government. Why? Because small business owners across the state, especially the Latino encouraging folks looking into the facts that affordability of private health insurance coverage afforded Georgia Access and incredibly proud of. It is something that all need to celebrate.” [GHCC Legislative Breakfast, 2/20/25]
King Was “Extremely Proud Of The Resounding Success Of This Year’s Open Enrollment.” According to a press release from Insurance And Safety Fire Commissioner John King, “Commissioner John F. King announced today that Georgia Access, the State’s health insurance marketplace, successfully concluded the 2025 Open Enrollment (OE) period, enrolling over 1.5 million consumers for Plan Year (PY) 2025, including 225,000 new consumers who were not previously enrolled in coverage through Healthcare.gov. The State’s OE 2025 period marks the success of its innovative approach and its first year as a State-based Exchange (SBE) as well as its highest enrollment year ever. Georgia Access is now the second-largest SBE in the country. ‘We are extremely proud of the resounding success of this year’s Open Enrollment. Most importantly, we are thrilled to be helping more Georgians than ever before secure affordable health coverage,’ said Commissioner King. ‘Our goal for OE 2025 was to reduce the number of uninsured Georgians and institute an innovative enrollment process by partnering with private sector entities, simplifying the enrollment process for consumers. As a result, Georgians are left with a true no-wrong door approach to getting health coverage.’” [Press Release – Commissioner John King, 1/29/25]
[AUDIO] King Thought Georgia Access Was “Vastly Superior” To “Government Run Insurance” Under The Affordable Care Act. “You know, we've done something truly remarkable in Georgia. First of all, to Governor Kemp and the legislature, they, we pulled out of the Affordable Care Act, which was really not serving the needs of Georgians. And so, we established a marketplace where private health companies would compete for Georgia consumers and their business. And as a result, we've been able to sign up over 1.5 million Georgians for private health insurance coverage, which is superior, vastly superior than then, you know, government run insurance. And we have 225,000 new customers who've never had insurance before. So, we're surpassing all records. We've outperformed any other state in the nation, and we outperformed in many metrics. The ACA, which is run out of Washington.” [Martha Zoller Show, 1/20/25]
King Slammed The Affordable Care Act And Claimed That “So Many Of The Fees That Were Being Generated From Georgia Were Going To Washington To Pay For Part Of The ACA And Georgia Wasn't Getting A Lot Of That Money Back.” According to The Center Square, “More than 1.5 million Georgians enrolled in the state's new health care exchange, Insurance Commissioner John King said. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would expand Medicaid. The numbers for Georgia Access during the open enrollment period include 225,000 who did not participate previously in Healthcare.gov, King said. The plan has lowered rates by 15% to 17% in rural areas, King previously told The Center Square. It also keeps money in the state, he said. ‘So many of the fees that were being generated from Georgia were going to Washington to pay for part of the ACA and Georgia wasn't getting a lot of that money back,’ King said. ‘It was being distributed across the nation. And so this was a strategy of keeping the burden off of the taxpayer and the fee generated off this marketplace solution will stay in Georgia, will fund the reinsurance bucket which reduces the rates for insurance companies and brings competition across the state.’” [Center Square, 1/30/25]
HEADLINE: “Georgia’s Obamacare Marketplace Left Thousands In Fear Of Health Insurance Cancellation.” [WSB-TV2, 1/15/25]
January 2025: 20,000 Georgians Were Impacted By A Technical Glitch That Made It Appear As If They Were Uninsured. According to Channel 2 News Atlanta, “Michele Fischbach says she had to pay hundreds of dollars out of her own pocket for a new prescription at the pharmacy this week because her health insurance coverage appears to no longer exist. ‘I went online and tried to sign on and they said there is no active medical policy. So, I freaked,’ Fischbach said. Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray has learned that about 20,000 Georgians are impacted by a system glitch in the rollout of Georgia’s new Obamacare marketplace, Georgia Access that makes it appear that they are uninsured.” [WSB-TV2, 1/15/25]
November 2024: Georgia Access Launched To Complaints From Applicants Who Said The Site Was “Crashing” And The Help Features Were “Completely Inaccessible”; Users Claimed They Were Unable To Enroll And Described The Enrollment Process As A “Nightmare” And An “IT Disaster.”According to Atlanta News First, “The Peach State’s new health insurance marketplace, Georgia Access, is entering its second week of open enrollment, but several people are reporting technical issues with the website that is creating a barrier to secure health coverage. Georgia Access launched on Nov. 1, replacing the Affordable Care Act plans through the HealthCare.gov portal Georgians used for the last decade. Atlanta News First Investigates received several emails from consumers and an insurance agent who all said they experienced issue after issue with the online consumer portal. Their complaints include the site ‘crashing;’ they ‘can’t get enrolled;’ help is ‘completely inaccessible;’ it’s a ‘nightmare;’ and an ‘IT disaster.’” [ANF, 11/13/24]
710,000 Enrollees In Georgia Access Would Otherwise Qualify For A Full Medicaid Expansion. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Pressed for details, the Department of Insurance said Friday that about 850,000 more Georgians have signed up for a state-based health care exchange called Georgia Access created by Kemp-backed legislation for those who don’t qualify for Medicaid. [...] Of those who signed up for Georgia Access, state insurance officials said about 710,000 are adults with annual incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, meaning they’d otherwise qualify for Medicaid coverage under a full expansion through the Affordable Care Act.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/19/24]
Georgia Health News Warned That Centene And WellCare’s Merger Created “A Company With A Dominant Position In Georgia’s Managed Care Marketplace For Medicaid.” According to Georgia Health News, “The merger of insurers Centene and WellCare will create a company with a dominant position in Georgia’s managed care market for Medicaid. The $17 billion deal, which closed Thursday, will give the resulting entity roughly two-thirds of the Medicaid HMO business in the state. And that market power has medical providers worried about the company driving tougher bargains in setting rates for reimbursements on medical services. Leading pharmacy and physician organizations opposed the merger here in Georgia, but the deal received state regulatory approval in September. Such consolidation has shaken up the health insurance industry, just as it has the hospital marketplace.” [Georgia Health News, 1/24/20]
King Approved The Mega-Merger. According to Georgia Health News, “The deal received King’s approval in September.” [Georgia Health News, 1/24/20]
The Georgia Pharmacy Association, The Medical Association Of Georgia, And The Georgia Society Of Clinical Oncology Warned King That The Merger Would “Substantially Lessen Competition, Be Hazardous To Georgia Medicaid Managed Care Patients, And That Centene May Lack The Competence Such That The Acquisition Would Not Be In The Interest Of Wellcare Patients Or The Public.” According to Georgia Health News, “Three medical provider organizations wrote a September letter to state Insurance Commissioner John King, asking him not to approve the deal in Georgia. Approval from state regulators is needed for such a merger. ‘The undersigned oppose the merger on the grounds that it will substantially lessen competition, be hazardous to Georgia Medicaid managed care patients, and that Centene may lack the competence such that the acquisition would not be in the interest of WellCare patients or the public,’ said the letter, signed by the Georgia Pharmacy Association, the Medical Association of Georgia, and the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology.” [Georgia Health News, 1/24/20]
The American Hospital Association Also Urged The Justice Department To Thoroughly Review The Merger; They Argued It Could Reduce Competition Among Managed Medicaid, Medicare Advantage And Affordable Care Act Exchange Plans. According to Georgia Health News, “Nationally, the American Hospital Association had urged the Justice Department to thoroughly review the merger, arguing it could reduce competition among managed Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Affordable Care Act exchange plans.” [Georgia Health News, 1/24/20]