Democratic senators ask watchdog agency to investigate Georgia’S Medicaid work rule

Three Democratic senators asked the country's top nonpartisan government watchdog on Tuesday to investigate the costs of a Georgia program that requires some people to work to receive Medicaid coverage.

The program, called "Georgia Pathways to Coverage," is the nation's only active Medicaid work requirement.

Pathways has cost tens of millions in federal and state dollars on administration and consulting fees while enrolling 5,542 people as of Nov. 1, according to KFF Health News' reporting. The congressional letter cited the reporting in its request to the Government Accountability Office.

"Republicans are hell-bent on putting mountains of red tape between Americans and their health care," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), head of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement about the letter he co-wrote. "Taxpayers deserve to hear from an independent watchdog about the true costs of the Republican health care agenda."

Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock co-signed the request.

The Democrats' letter asks the GAO to prepare a summary of the costs to run the program — and detail how much of that has been picked up by the feds, break down the cost of the program per person, and assess how Georgia has used contractors to run the program and how federal officials have overseen it.

The request comes as President-elect Donald Trump, who supported work requirements in his first administration, is set to take office and potentially transform how people qualify for Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for people who are disabled or have low incomes.

Many GOP-led states have pushed for work requirements in public benefits programs such as Medicaid, arguing that they promote employment. Georgia's Pathways program requires some Medicaid applicants to prove they are working, volunteering, or studying for 80 hours a month.

The first Trump administration approved work requirements in 13 states. Only Georgia's program, which started on July 1, 2023, is in effect. A Medicaid work requirement launched in Arkansas was halted by a court order in 2019.

In November, South Dakota voters gave lawmakers a green light to seek a work requirement for some Medicaid enrollees. In 2023, North Carolina lawmakers directed the state to seek work requirements if the federal government would approve such a waiver. And some GOP-led states have indicated they might also seek work requirements.

Georgia's program has been a priority of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, and his team defended the program.

"The Senators should be more focused on examining the failures of the federal government to adequately provide the services they're required to administer than looking for every opportunity to criticize states that are taking innovative approaches," Garrison Douglas, a Kemp spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.

Enrollment in the program, which as of Dec. 13 was 5,903, has fallen far short of the state's initial projection of more than 25,000 in the first year.

The program has cost more than $40 million in state and federal funds, largely administrative costs and not medical care for enrollees, Georgia officials have said. KFF Health News reported in March that Georgia officials estimated the program's administrative costs could increase to $122 million over four years.

A spokesperson for Georgia's Medicaid agency, Fiona Roberts, said the costs "increased significantly" because of the program's delayed launch. While it was approved by the Trump administration, the Biden administration attempted to block it, resulting in a legal fight.

KFF Health News has also reported that the program has slowed processing times for other Medicaid applications and for public benefits such as cash assistance and food stamps.

Meanwhile, more than a year after Pathways' launch, Georgia officials said they still had not removed enrollees for failing to prove they are working, volunteering, or studying for 80 hours a month, KFF Health News has reported.

"State leaders continue to put taxpayer dollars behind their ineffective health care program that has failed by nearly every metric," Warnock said.

Previous federal research suggests that the high costs per enrollee associated with Georgia's program could be repeated elsewhere. The Trump administration didn't properly weigh administrative costs in state applications for work requirements, according to a 2019 GAO report. Pathways is slated to expire on Sept. 30, unless federal officials grant an extension.