ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia House Democratic Caucus has slammed Gov. Brian Kemp's Medicaid waiver proposal, saying it will be more expensive, cover fewer people and take longer than the full Medicaid expansion they support.
Democrats called the Republican-sponsored bill "heinous" and "ill-conceived" in a news conference Wednesday.
Kemp's plan sailed through a Senate committee on Tuesday. It authorizes his office to pursue Medicaid waivers from the federal government.
A waiver, as opposed to full expansion of the program, would give Georgia the flexibility to adopt a more conservative plan.
Critics are especially concerned that the bill would cap Medicaid eligibility at the poverty line, instead of slightly above it — as was required under the original call to expand Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
