In August 2023, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) launched a project to monitor the implementation of the first year of Georgia’s new Pathways to Coverage program. The project aims to generate timely data and uplift lived experience to inform the discussion around increasing access to affordable, high-quality health care for low-income Georgians. GBPI is collaborating with researchers and community-based partners to conduct data collection, storytelling and stakeholder education that center the perspectives and experiences of Georgians who already face persistent and systemic barriers to good health. GBPI will share the anonymized findings with policymakers, state agency leadership, health policy advocates and others who can use the information to take action.

The state of Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program, which launched in July 2023, gives uninsured adults with lower incomes a new Medicaid option that allows them to see a doctor, refill prescriptions and more. About 290,000 Georgians live in the coverage gap, which means they make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and not enough to be eligible for the tax credits that make health plans on the marketplace affordable. Georgians living in the coverage gap may be eligible for the Pathways to Coverage program if they meet key criteria, such as reporting 80 hours per month of work, higher education, community service or other qualifying activities.