As public health leaders, it’s important we understand the coming impact on public health. Reduced funding will result in fewer people having insurance and make it harder for health care providers. In many communities, maintaining access is already a financial struggle - it will make it harder to keep our emergency rooms open, to upgrade outdated equipment, and to retain qualified staff. When hospitals and health centers or nursing homes close, families lose lifesaving care—and our community loses good jobs that help sustain the local economy. It also means that - for many reasons - our friends, our family members, our neighbors, and our community will be more likely to live sicker lives and to die younger.
Last year (and prior to these cuts) the life expectancy in Miller County, Georgia was 67. This is roughly in line with the life expectancy of Zimbabwe or Eritrea. We deserve better.
So, as we do a deep dive what this looks like in the four states that SAPHL works in, it’s important to remember that these losses and the people they impact are real and lives for some people in some places will be shorter as a result. That means more moms and babies who die before they make it out of the hospital. That means parents picking up second jobs because of cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. That means grandparents who get fewer years with their grandkids because they were hesitant about going to the hospital because of the cost.
To fully understand the scale and urgency of this crisis, we have to look at the data; behind every data point is a family, a neighbor, a life altered by these policy changes.
Georgia: A Tipping Point for Coverage
Georgia is on the brink of a significant decline in health insurance coverage. By 2034, 690,000 more Georgians could lose health insurance, representing a 6% increase in the uninsured rate statewide. Nearly 530,000 residents will lose their Affordable Care Act plans and another 93,000 will likely fall off of Medicaid, jeopardizing families’ health and financial security across the state.
Insurance costs in Georgia will also continue to climb. Premiums have risen for four consecutive years, with an additional 7% increase this year alone. Without federal support, a single person making $30,000 annually could see their premiums jump by $1,350 per year, while a retired couple in their 60s earning $80,000 could face staggering annual increases of $16,800. In rural counties, where incomes are typically lower and health needs are higher, residents would pay an average of $512 more per year for coverage. In Oconee County, the average premium increase tops $900 annually.
Pushing so many people off of health insurance could also push more rural hospitals toward closure. Georgia already has 45 facilities at risk, including hospitals in Blue Ridge, Ocilla, Sandersville, and Montezuma, which have struggled with negative financial margins for years. Meanwhile, counties with high diabetes rates, low primary care access, and large uninsured populations stand to suffer the most. In high-diabetes counties alone, 238,000 residents would be forced to file new paperwork to keep their coverage, while enrollees in counties with the lowest access to primary care would see costs rise by an average of $521 per year. These trends underscore the urgent need for policies that protect coverage and support the stability of Georgia’s health care system.
But while things are about to get much, much worse - but in many communities, our current health system is already in collapse. One in four residents in three counties in Georgia (Whitfield, Candler, and Atkinson) don’t currently have health insurance.
This is a pivotal moment for Georgia. Help SAPHL make sure these numbers don’t stay abstract. We need to mobilize communities, elevate local voices, and educate on policies that could preserve public health. That means working with partners to share the data, training trusted messengers, and holding decision-makers accountable for the health outcomes of their constituents. I hope you’ll join us in our work.
Next week, we’ll share a similar story about the data in South Carolina.