Georgia's Medicaid plan that requires work struggles to reach state's expectations

Georgia's Medicaid plan that requires work has struggled since it's implementation in 2022.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had blocked the work requirement from taking effect but a federal judge had reinstated it in 2022 after Georgia sued. 

As of June 7, 2024, the program had 4,318 members, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health, but state officials expected it would cover about 25,000 or more.

The program, formally titled Pathways to Coverage, requires recipients to demonstrate at least 80 hours of work, volunteering, schooling or vocational rehabilitation monthly.

Coverage is limited to "able-bodied adults earning no more than the federal poverty line, which is $15,060 for a single person and $31,200 for a family of four," according to the Associated Press.

Georgia's Pathways to Coverage is the only Medicaid program in the nation with such a requirement.