Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Monday defended and doubled down on his signature Medicaid program — the only one in the nation with a work requirement — further dimming chances the state could adopt a broader expansion of the taxpayer-funded low-income health plan without a work mandate any time soon.
Georgia Pathways requires all recipients to show that they performed at least 80 hours of work, volunteer activity, schooling or vocational rehabilitation in a month to qualify. It launched in July 2023, but has so far signed up a tiny fraction of eligible state residents.
Kemp touted the program Monday during a panel discussion that included Georgia Department of Community Health Commissioner Russel Carlson and Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King. The governor’s office also played a video testimonial from a Pathways recipient, Luke Seaborn, 53, who praised the program and later told The Associated Press in a phone interview that it had helped him pay for an injection for nerve pain.
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