Last summer, when Congress debated the largest Medicaid cuts in a generation, Georgia’s Republican governor touted his state’s health care policy experiment as a role model.
Since 2023 Georgia has been the only state with a Medicaid work requirement for working-age low-income adults. Georgia Pathways to Coverage, the governor said, would help 1.4 million Georgians secure health insurance.
But an investigation by The Current GA and ProPublica revealed a different reality — taxpayer waste and harm to tens of thousands of Georgians.
Reporter Margaret Coker examined thousands of records to show that the state had awarded Deloitte Consulting $90 million to design and publicize the Pathways program —without requiring enrollment goals for the spending. She also chronicled the program dysfunction that ensnared thousands of eligible Georgians, including the star of a Pathways testimonial video who was dropped from coverage multiple times. “I used to think of Pathways as a blessing,” said Luke Seaborn, “Now, I’m done with it.”
In 2024 only 2% of eligible Georgians had Pathways coverage. At the end of 2025, the total was around 8%. Read the full series below:
The Current GA and ProPublica project earns national recognition from SABEW
The Current GA, in collaboration with ProPublica, received an Honorable Mention in the Best in Business Awards for their reporting on Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program, which highlighted systemic issues affecting low-income Georgians.
Georgia governor, legislature signal health care isn’t priority as federal aid losses mount
Georgia’s health care economy is facing a crisis due to federal funding cuts, which could result in lower revenue for providers and reduced health coverage for Georgians, while state Democrats are making health care a key issue in the upcoming election.
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care, GAO says
Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at least $54 million on administrative costs alone.
What Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement tells us about costs of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Georgia spent $55M to build the verification system for its Medicaid work requirement policy, currently the only one in the nation. But in their draft bill, GOP leaders have allocated just $100M to help all 50 states stand up similar systems.
Firm running Georgia’s struggling Medicaid experiment was also paid millions to sell it to public
Deloitte Consulting is taking in tens of millions in tax dollars to build, manage and market Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program. Yet only 3% of eligible residents have enrolled.