This story was updated on Friday January 20th, 2023 at 2:15pm with additional comment.
If anyone was hoping that a new House Speaker would take a fresh look at full Medicaid expansion in Georgia, House Speaker Jon Burns dropped cold water this Thursday.
Burns is only the second speaker since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, but he will continue Georgia’s long-standing GOP tradition of opposing a full expansion of the insurance program for the state’s low-income residents. Georgia is one of 11 states that did not expand Medicaid under the Obama-era health care law.
Instead, Burns told reporters on Thursday that he believes Gov. Brian Kemp’s more limited expansion plan, due to begin in July, should be given the opportunity to expand coverage to include more Georgians. About 50,000 people can get health insurance under his plan if they complete 80 hours of work, vocational training, or other qualifying activities each month.
“Reg. Kemp is certainly leading the way with the waivers and I think we need to give him time,” he said.
House Democrats plan to make full expansion their top priority this session, as they have for years. Minority leader James Beverly has already tabled a bill that would extend coverage to an estimated half a million Georgians. The Democrats’ bill faced long odds in the GOP-controlled legislature, but the Speaker’s opposition makes it a non-starter in this chamber.
Beverly said he was disappointed by Burns’ comments.
“It’s sad to know that he won’t even consider options to expand healthcare that will only benefit Georgians. It is absolutely irresponsible and harmful to the citizens of this state,” Beverly said in a statement on Friday. “We have the resources to expand access to healthcare to all Georgians and that is long overdue. Investing in the health and safety of our state is critical to building a better and safer Georgia.”
Burns also said he had no interest in introducing new abortion restrictions while the state’s six-week abortion ban is being challenged in court — a position that will end any hopes of anti-abortion advocates of more restrictions in the first legislative session since the US The Supreme Court made access to abortion a state decision.
A Fulton County judge overturned Georgia’s law in November, but the state has appealed the verdict to the Georgia Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments in March. A try to make it harder Access to abortion drugs in Georgia – which require an in-person examination, for example – has stalled in the latest session.
“I think the attitude that the House should be in – and certainly the attitude that Jon Burns is in – is that we’re going to wait and see exactly what becomes of the legislation that we pass,” he said.
“We will hear from the state Supreme Court and then we will take action if necessary. If not, we certainly have something on offer.”
But Burns said he’s open to another health proposal that hasn’t gone anywhere in the past – increasing the state tax on tobacco products. Georgia has the second lowest tobacco tax rate in the country.
“That’s one of the areas we’re going to look at,” he said.
Burns has restructured House committees to encourage lawmakers to address complex health issues, and he says a potential increase in tobacco taxes is an example of health policy that could spill out of committees.
Behavioral health will also be a “front burner issue” for these committees, he said. Last year, lawmakers passed a famous bipartisan behavioral health parity bill, which was seen at the time as the start of efforts to improve access to treatment in Georgia. Advocates and lawmakers hope to build on that work this year.
“We want to make sure we address the issue comprehensively, whether it’s with mental health professionals, because we’re dealing with an issue that affects almost every family in this state,” he said.
Under Burns, public health was spun off as its own committee headed by Marietta Republican Rep. Sharon Cooper, who was chair of the health committee. Rep. Lee Hawkins, a Republican from Gainesville, now chairs the health panel.
Rep. Butch Parrish, a Swainsboro Republican who formerly chaired the subcommittee on the health budget, now chairs the House Special Committee on Health Care.
“I think we have the right people in place given the focus that we’re going to have on a broad perspective on health,” Burns said. “And if that gets to the point where we want to have more serious discussions, then of course we can have those.”
