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 aimed 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 collaborated 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. In December 2024, GBPI launched a second phase of this project focused on monitoring the program’s enrollment and fiscal trends beyond the first year of Pathways to Coverage’s implementation. GBPI continues to 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. Over 240,00 Georgians live in the health insurance coverage gap, which means they may not qualify for traditional Medicaid and do not earn enough to be eligible for the tax credits that make marketplace health plans affordable. Georgians living in this 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.