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Georgia Health Initiative: Medicaid covers 2.3 million Georgians and accounts for 22% of state budget; managed-care changes ahead
Summary
Georgia Health Initiative presented a data-driven overview showing Medicaid covers about 2.3 million Georgians, finances nearly half of births, covers the majority of nursing-home residents and represents roughly 22% of the state budget; new managed-care contracts are scheduled to begin in mid‑2026.
Cindy Zeldin, vice president for health policy and government affairs at the Georgia Health Initiative, presented the organization's new Medicaid-in-Georgia analysis and told the Senate Health committee that Medicaid currently provides coverage to about 2,300,000 Georgians.
"Medicaid is a joint state federal program that provides health coverage to, 2,300,000 Georgians, including more than 2 in 5 children in Georgia," Zeldin said. She told members Medicaid finances nearly half of births in Georgia and covers approximately three of four nursing home residents.
Zeldin summarized major program features from the data-and-trends report: Medicaid enrollment peaked at about 2.8 million during the federal public health emergency and fell to roughly 2.3 million after eligibility redeterminations. The largest expenditure categories are inpatient hospital, pharmacy, behavioral health and outpatient services, which together represent about 68% of Medicaid spending. The report lists total Medicaid spending at about $14.6 billion, with the federal share (FMAP) at about 66.04% for 2025.
Zeldin also described the state's managed-care program, Georgia Families, which now covers approximately 75% of Medicaid members. She said new managed-care contracts were recently rebid and are expected to take effect in mid‑2026 after contract negotiations and readiness reviews; additional populations may be moved into managed care in later years.
Zeldin said the publication includes deeper information about EPSDT (early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment) for children, waiver programs for seniors and people with disabilities, provider credentialing and geographic access standards. She offered to provide county-level hospital-closure comparisons and other follow-up data to the committee upon request.
Ending: Zeldin asked committee members to use the report as a resource and to contact Georgia Health Initiative with follow-up questions and data requests.
