Bill to limit Peachcare receives blow in Senate committee

The Senate Rules Committee gutted a bill pitched by House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) as a way to reign in the cost of Georgia’s Peachcare child health plan.

As Richardson introduced it, the bill would have required new Peachcare families to make less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, a family of four would have to make less than $40,000 to qualify-down from the current limit of $47,000. The bill also required enrollees to pay extra for dental and vision care.

The Senate Rules Committee swapped Richardson's language for a more comprehensive overhaul of Peachcare. The new Senate version:
-Expands Medicaid to include children in families that make less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level.
-Requires families that make between 125 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level to pay a premium for Peachcare that amounts to 1.5 percent of their total income.
-Allows families that make between 200 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level to enroll their children in Peachcare for a premium that would be set on a sliding scale in proportion to their income. Current Peachcare families would not be affected.

A task force led by Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Douglas) wrote most of the language. It was news to Richardson.

"It would've been nice for someone to talk to me about this before they tried to hijack the bill," said Richardson before issuing a warning. "If Sen. Goggans is the one who's hijacked this, then he won't be passing anything else in the Georgia House of Representatives and that bill will not pass."

The full Senate must approve the bill before it goes back to the House.