Low-Income Health Insurance in Georgia
To get free health insurance in Georgia, you need to earn a low income and meet another standard, such as being pregnant, elderly or a parent.
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Adults without children who earn a low income can get free or discounted health insurance through the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program or Georgia Access.
Georgia doesn't have what's called expanded Medicaid. Instead, the state runs its own free health insurance program called Georgia Pathways to Coverage. To enroll, you need to earn less than $1,304 per month as a single person ($2,220 per month as a family of three) and have a job or be enrolled in school or a work training program.
How to get Medicaid in Georgia
To get Medicaid in Georgia, you need to earn a low income and meet another standard like being pregnant or elderly.
Georgia is one of 10 states that don't offer Medicaid for all adults who earn a low income. That means you need to fall into one of the following categories to get Medicaid coverage if you also have a low income.
People who qualify for Medicaid in Georgia
- Pregnant women
- Children and teenagers
- People age 65 and older
- The legally blind
- People with a disability
- Those who need nursing home care
Finding out if you're eligible for Medicaid in Georgia can be tricky. That's because the program's income limit depends on how you qualify. For example, a 7-year-old child in a family of three can get Georgia Medicaid if their parents earn $2,952 per month or less.
But someone who needs nursing home care can only get Medicaid if they make $2,901 per month or less. You can get Medicaid with an income of up to $1,325 per month if you're blind, disabled or older than 64 and a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB).
Monthly income limit by Medicaid program
Medicaid program | Monthly limit |
|---|---|
| Medicaid for adults with children | $551 |
| Medicaid for children (age 0 to 1) | $4,551 |
| Medicaid for children (age 1 to 5) | $3,307 |
| Medicaid for children (age 6 to 19) | $2,952 |
| Medicaid for pregnant women | $4,884 |
| Medicaid for those with Social Security Insurance (SSI) | $967 |
| Medicaid for Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs) | $1,325 |
| Medically Needy program for people who are blind, aged or disabled | $317 |
| People in nursing homes or hospice care | $2,901 |
Georgia Medicaid asset limits
In Georgia, you can only get Medicaid for nursing home care or because you're blind, disabled or age 65 and up if you have less than $2,000 in assets not including your house and one car. Assets that count toward this limit include:
- Investments like stocks and bonds
- Money you have in your bank account
- Life insurance with a value over $5,000
- Houses and other property aside from where you live
- Property and money that you own with another person or that you got through an inheritance
Georgia Pathways to Coverage
Georgia Pathways to Coverage is free health insurance for adults who make a low income but can't get Medicaid.
To enroll in Georgia Pathways to Coverage, you have to earn less than $1,304 per month ($2,220 per month for a family of three) and meet other standards like being a Georgia resident and having a job, volunteering or attending a university, called qualifying activities.
Pathways to Coverage is similar to expanded Medicaid, but there are several differences. States with Medicaid expansion don't have qualifying activities. In other words, you don't need to have a job or enroll in school to get Medicaid in other states.
Georgia is in the process of extending Pathways to Coverage to adults with children age 6 and under who make $1,304 per month but who don't meet the program's work requirements.
Medicaid eligibility for children
Medicaid eligibility for children depends on how much you make, your household size and the age of your child. Keep in mind that you may also be eligible for a separate free government health insurance program for children, called PeachCare for Kids.
Medicaid income limits by age
Ages 0 to 1
Ages 1 to 5
Ages 6 to 19
Family size | Income (per month) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $2,675 |
| 2 | $3,614 |
| 3 | $4,551 |
| 4 | $5,893 |
Add $939 per month for each extra person in the household.
Ages 0 to 1
Family size | Income (per month) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $2,675 |
| 2 | $3,614 |
| 3 | $4,551 |
| 4 | $5,893 |
Add $939 per month for each extra person in the household.
Ages 1 to 5
Family size | Income (per month) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,944 |
| 2 | $2,626 |
| 3 | $3,307 |
| 4 | $3,991 |
Add $683 per month for each extra person in the household.
Ages 6 to 19
Family size | Income (per month) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,735 |
| 2 | $2,344 |
| 3 | $2,952 |
| 4 | $3,563 |
Add $683 per month for each extra person in the household.
A household with just one person would be a child who doesn't live with a parent or relative. For example, a child in state care would count as a single-person household.
PeachCare for Kids
Children in Georgia can get free health care through a program called PeachCare for Kids if their parents earn a low income.
PeachCare for Kids is the name for Georgia's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP and Medicaid are similar in that both programs offer free health insurance for children. But, you can qualify for CHIP at a higher income level than you can for Medicaid.
PeachCare for Kids income limits by family size
Family size | Income (per month) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $3,100 |
| 2 | $4,208 |
| 3 | $5,315 |
| 4 | $6,422 |
| 5 | $7,530 |
| 6 | $8,637 |
| 7 | $9,745 |
| 8 | $10,852 |
Add $1,108 per month for each extra person in the household.
PeachCare for Kids covers services beyond what a regular health policy might pay for, such as dental and vision coverage.
PeachCare for Kids covered services
- Primary doctor care
- Preventive services
- Visits to specialist doctors
- Dental care
- Vision care
- Hospital stays
- Emergency room services
- Prescription drugs
- Mental health care
Georgia Access: Discounted marketplace coverage
Marketplace health insurance is the best coverage option if you live in Georgia, earn a low income and can't get Medicaid or Georgia Pathways to Coverage.
You may get discounts if you buy insurance through the Georgia health exchange, which is called Georgia Access. These discounts can lower your monthly rate by hundreds of dollars per month depending on your income.
Almost half of all people with marketplace health insurance in Georgia pay less than $10 per month for coverage.
To get discounted marketplace coverage in Georgia, you need to earn between $15,606 and $60,240 per year ($25,820 to $103,280 per year for a family of three). How much you make determines the size of your discount: The less you earn, the more you save.
All plans bought through the Georgia marketplace have to cover 10 important services, called minimum essential coverage.
- Doctor visits
- Preventive services
- Emergency care
- Hospital stays
- Prescription drugs
- Lab services
- Care for pregnant women and newborns
- Pediatric care
- Mental health and substance use care
- Rehab services
Extra discounts for Silver health insurance plans
You can get extra discounts, called cost-sharing reductions, if you buy a Silver health plan and you earn between $15,060 and $37,650 per year ($31,200 and $78,000 as a family of four).
These discounts help cover the costs you're responsible for paying when you go to the doctor, such as your deductible, copays and coinsurance.
Cost-sharing reductions can help you save thousands of dollars per year. That means it's almost always a good idea to get a cheap Silver health plan if you're eligible for these extra discounts.
Catastrophic health insurance
Catastrophic health plans typically have the cheapest monthly rates and the worst coverage among marketplace plans.
But these plans usually aren't a good coverage choice because they don't qualify for discounts called subsidies. That means you'll probably pay more for a Catastrophic plan than you would for a Bronze or Silver plan if you earn a low income.
Plus, Catastrophic plans typically have very large deductibles. You'd have to pay nearly $10,000 before coverage starts for most services with a Catastrophic plan.
You can only buy a Catastrophic health plan if you're under 30 or you can show that you'd have a hard time buying better health insurance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best low-income health insurance in Georgia?
Medicaid is the best health insurance for Georgia residents who earn a low income. If you're not eligible for Georgia Medicaid or Pathways to Coverage, see if you can get discounted marketplace coverage.
How can I get low-cost health insurance in Georgia?
To get low-cost health insurance in Georgia, sign up for an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan, also called "Obamacare," through the Georgia Access state health exchange. Roughly half of all people in Georgia with exchange plans pay under $10 per month for coverage because of discounts, also called subsidies or premium tax credits.
Can adults in GA get Medicaid?
Yes, adults in Georgia can get Medicaid if they earn a low income and meet another standard, such as being pregnant, elderly or having a disability. If you don't qualify for Medicaid but you earn a low income, you may be eligible for Georgia Pathways to Coverage, which is a type of free government health insurance that's similar to Medicaid.
To get Pathways to Coverage, you need to have a job or be in school or training for work.
Sources
Sources include HealthCare.gov, KFF, the Georgia Department of Community Health and Georgia Pathways to Coverage.
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