Download the Voices for Georgia’s Children Boiler Plate/Backgrounder

Download the Voices for Georgia’s Children brochure

Strong public health programming is important to protecting and sustaining the health of entire communities and populations. During the 20th century, the health and life expectancy of persons residing in the U.S. grew by more than 30 years; 25 years of this gain are credited to advances in public health.1 The ten great achievements of public health during the 20th century include: Control of infectious diseases, decline in death from coronary heart disease and stroke, family planning, fluoridation of drinking water, healthier mothers and babies, motor-vehicle safety, recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard, safer and healthier foods and work places, and vaccines.

Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., serves as the Commissioner of DPH and the Georgia State Health Officer. Dr. Fitzgerald, a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist and a Fellow in Anti-Aging Medicine, has practiced medicine for three decades. As Commissioner, Dr. Fitzgerald oversees the department’s various public health programs and directs the state’s 18 public health districts and 159 county health departments. Prior to joining DPH, Dr. Fitzgerald held numerous leadership posts, including holding the distinction of being a founding board member of Voices for Georgia’s Children.

Voices staff recently spoke with Dr. Fitzgerald about her vision for DPH and her plans for 2012. Read the interview here.

Download Full Healthy Steps 2011/2012 Supplement: The New Georgia Department of Public Health

Like all states, Georgia and its families continue to feel the impact of the economic recession. As the state experiences budget deficits, child poverty rates have increased and vital health services for some of the most vulnerable populations — pregnant women, children, and low-income families — have been reduced or eliminated. Encouragingly, alternative programs have emerged, showing Georgia’s continued commitment to the health of its citizens. Initiatives in the fight against childhood obesity, growing interest in oral health, and new programs targeting healthy birth outcomes are just some of the efforts underway. Our special insert on the Georgia Department of Public Health — restored to its own independent agency in July 2011 after being consolidated under other departments for more than 30 years — discusses an opportunity before the state to become a national leader in providing for the health of Georgia’s communities, including children.

For the third straight year, Georgia ranked 42nd in the country overall for child well being.1 We must better serve our children! Our ability to move forward, however, relies on our capacity to collect and quickly analyze high-quality data that can inform policy decisions. Through our advocacy and this publication, we hope to gain support for annually tracking Georgia-specific child health indicators to make data-informed policy and programmatic decisions that will improve the quality of life for our children and families.

Download Full Healthy Steps Indicators 2011/2012 Report

With this in mind, Voices for Georgia’s Children and Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF) commissioned a study to focus on opportunities for improving insurance coverage and healthcare services for Georgia’s children. The report, Modernizing Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids: Promising Program Design Options for Georgia’s Children, shows us that Georgia can greatly increase the number of children covered and keep them covered all while trimming administrative costs and improving quality outcomes. 

• Download Full Report
  
• Download Report Cover Letter to GA Dept. of Community Health
  
• Download Report Recommendations In Brief
  
• Visit Report’s Microsite
• Read the Report Press Release
• Read AJC Op-ed by Voices & GHF

As we look ahead to potential policy changes for Medicaid and PeachCare, our goal is to ensure that any changes rely upon best practices in coverage, access and quality to ensure all of Georgia’s children get the healthcare services they need. The following recommendations address ways to increase access, coverage and quality: 

1. Simplify Eligibility
2. Improve Access to Specialty Care
3. Ensure Access to Coordinated Care
4. Strengthen Accountability
5. Use All Available Resources

To learn more, visit the report’s microsite on GHF’s website.

Governor Nathan Deal recently issued an executive order to create the Georgia Health Insurance Exchange Advisory Committee, which is tasked with mapping out the options for policy makers as they weigh whether to establish state-level individual and small business exchanges for Georgia as authorized by federal law. As part of their work, one of the critical considerations of the advisory committee should be how to incorporate a clear, streamlined navigator program as part of the exchange. While at the time of this publication we have received proposed regulation from the federal government regarding the navigator program, these regulations are not finalized and still leave discretion regarding many program specifics to the state, much like the original legislation. Planning within Georgia should already be underway to design a navigator program that will eliminate barriers that families are currently experiencing when trying to obtain health care coverage.

Download Full Fact Sheet: Navigators – A Vital Element in Developing Georgia’s Healthcare Exchange

Download Brochure: Medicaid & PeachCare Eligibility & Enrollment

Download Postcard: Medicaid & PeachCare Eligibility & Enrollment

300,000 children are uninsured in Georgia. Of this number, 193,000 children are eligible to be enrolled in either Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids®, our state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). There are ways, however, for Georgia policy makers to implement changes to better find, enroll, and retain eligible kids in health programs.

Why Does it Matter?

First, when kids are healthy, they are more likely to succeed in school and in life. Putting into place family-friendly processes will help enroll qualified kids and keep them enrolled. Simplifying procedures to get Georgia’s kids covered will set them on a trajectory toward success and help fulfill a healthier and more prosperous outlook for all of Georgia. Second, Georgia can qualify for federal bonus dollars by simplifying enrollment and retention practices.

Download Full Fact Sheet: Get Em’ Covered, Keep Em’ Covered – Moving Towards More Family-Friendly Enrollment & Retention Practices for Georgia

Recently passed federal legislation allows for Georgia to enact policies to improve health coverage and outcomes for kids who otherwise might have
fallen through the cracks. The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) and the 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) address ways to increase health coverage, methods to improve access to healthcare services, and means to track and improve health outcomes for children nationwide. At the state level, despite a particularly long and arduous state legislative session in which severe budget cuts were made to programs serving children and families, funds were included within the 2011 budget to implement a Planning for Healthy Babies Medicaid Waiver to improve birth outcomes in our state. Beyond legislative activity, other efforts within the state continue to work toward improving child health in Georgia. The State Dental Public Health Program has taken significant steps to collect data and implement a State Oral Health Plan. Further infrastructure for a pediatric telemedicine network has been developed. And Georgia’s newly established Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities has organized channels to encourage interagency collaboration to better address behavioral health service delivery for Georgians.

We offer this publication as a tool to help you gauge how children are faring and to provide recommendations on what we as a state can do to give all children a fair chance to live a healthy life. We invite you to become engaged in this conversation and lend your voice as collectively we advocate on behalf of children, during the 2010 election season and in the 2011 state legislative session.

Download Full Report: Healthy Steps Indicators 2010