Stories like Corporal’s and Seaborn’s go a long way to explaining why Pathways has
turned out the way it has. Initial state projections suggested between 31,000 and 100,000 residents would sign up during its first year. Fewer than 5,000 actually did. And in more than 40 percent of Georgia counties, less than ten—that’s ten
people, not ten percent—had enrolled after year one.
Lack of awareness is probably a factor in the low enrollment: Lots of eligible people have no idea the new program exists. But two independent assessments—one by a state contractor, one by an independent research organization called the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute—found that a bigger obstacle were the kind of paperwork issues that bedeviled Corporal and Seaborn, and that can be even tougher for the people who need Medicaid the most.
“They may not have access to consistent internet, their phone number may not be active if they’re not able to pay their bill that month,”
Leah Chan, a researcher at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute who conducted that organization’s assessment. “They may be moving a lot because of the high cost of rent and low housing stock. So there’s a lot of issues that can make it more challenging.”
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