Georgia's Experience Raises Red Flags for Medicaid Work Requirement Nationwide

(AP Photo/Sudhin Thanawala)

Georgia's experiment with a work requirement for Medicaid offers a test of a similar mandate Republicans in Congress want to implement nationally, and advocates say the results so far should serve as a warning.

Just days shy of its 2-year anniversary, the Georgia Medicaid program is providing health coverage to about 7,500 low-income residents, up from 4,300 in the first year , but far fewer than the estimated 240,000 people who could qualify. The state had predicted at least 25,000 enrollees in the first year and nearly 50,000 in the second year.

Applicants and beneficiaries have faced technical glitches and found it nearly impossible at times to reach staff for help, despite more than $50 million in federal and state spending on computer software and ad