Mere hours before Governor Brian Kemp would crow in his State of the State Address about the progress his administration has claimed to have made in insuring Georgians, Georgia Access experienced a “glitch” that erroneously informed approximately 20,000 Georgians that they no longer had access to health insurance. Despite likely being insured and receiving the messages in error, WSB-TV reported that some Georgians paid out of pocket for treatment or medicine as a result of the misinformation.

The so-called glitch occurred when Georgia Access automatically re-enrolled policyholders in their federal marketplace plans - which are now prohibited in Georgia - then flagged the policies as duplicates and automatically canceled the original (federal) policy. 

“Whether it’s Access, Pathways, Medicaid unwinding - or even non-health-related issues like prisons and school vouchers - the reality is Brian Kemp and his administrative departments are incapable of delivering adequate services to the people of Georgia,” said DPG spokesperson Alex Yerkey. “After six years, Brian Kemp can only point to a huge government surplus he refuses to invest in Georgians and a litany of understaffed, undertrained, and under-resourced state agencies failing under his leadership.”

This isn’t the first time Kemp’s Department of Community Health has been hampered by a sloppy program rollout. Pathways to Coverage, in addition to dismal enrollment rates and low acceptance rates, had a significant portion of applications left unprocessed even months after being submitted. DCH also saw huge administrative issues as they attempted to handle Medicaid unwinding at the end of 2023. 

While Kemp’s address today touted the nominal success of the Georgia Access program in enrollment numbers, critics of the program have pointed out that level of enrollment is predominantly the result of Biden administration premium subsidies, set to expire next year. Without the subsidies propping up the program, Access will likely perform worse and cost more than simply letting Georgians seek coverage on the federal marketplace.