ATLANTA (January 20, 2022) — Today, Georgia Equality released the results of a commissioned budget review investigating the impact Medicaid expansion could have on the availability of HIV treatment and care dollars in Georgia. The report, prepared by Alan Essig, shows that expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would result in serving more Georgians with HIV/AIDS diagnoses –to the tune of $53 million– without spending additional state dollars.
The Governor’s recommendation to increase funding for Georgia’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) by $9.9 million in both the midyear budget and the budget for the next state fiscal year is desperately needed to ensure that we can avoid the establishment of a waiting list for these lifesaving medications. While we applaud the Governor’s support of ADAP, unfortunately, such increases on an annual basis may not be sustainable over time. Therefore, Georgia Equality’s educational arm, Equality Foundation of Georgia, contracted with noted budget analyst Alan Essig to study the implications of expanding Georgia’s Medicaid program to cover people living with HIV. Continue reading
state’s largest political advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Georgians and our allies, is proud to announce two additional endorsements in the upcoming runoff elections for Atlanta City Council — Keisha Waites for Post 3, at-large and Jason Dozier for District 4.
Augusta, GA, November 16, 2021 — Today, by a unanimous vote, the Board of Commissioners in Augusta, Georgia passed a nondiscrimination ordiance that provides needed protections to LGBTQ folks and other marginalized groups. This makes Augusta Georgia’s 14th city, and second county (after Athens-Clarke earlier this year) to provide such protections.