Every time Ashton Alexander sees an ad for Georgia Pathways to Coverage, it feels like a “kick in the face.”
Alexander tried signing up for Pathways, the state’s limited Medicaid expansion, multiple times and got denied each time, he said, even though he met the qualifying terms because he’s a full-time student.
Georgia is one of 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid health coverage to a broader pool of low-income adults. Instead, it offers coverage to those who can prove they’re working or completing 80 hours a month of other qualifying activities, like going to school or volunteering. And it is the only state currently doing so.
“Why is this marketing out here?” said the 20-year-old, who lives in Conyers, east of Atlanta. “It’s truly not accessible.”
Each denial used the same boilerplate language, Alexander said, and his calls to caseworkers were not returned. State offices couldn’t connect him with caseworkers assigned to him from the same state agency. And when he requested contact information for a supervisor to appeal his denial, he said, the number rang to a fax machine.