ATLANTA (WJBF) – The 2025 legislative budget session is one-third of the way done, as lawmakers focus on plans to solve Georgia’s health care challenges.

State democrats have dropped a bill, the Peach Care Plus Act, aimed to help Georgians get access by expanding Medicaid.

It would submit a federal waiver to fully subsidize health insurance for people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level and would create a 11-member committee to oversee waiver requests.

Governor Brian Kemp said the state has other alternates which would help more people get coverage, and said the Georgia Pathways program helps people get a degree, learn real world skills and receive better health care coverage.

Another program, the Georgia Access Program, is a health insurance program for low-income Georgians, but state Democrats said that’s simply not enough.

“We have to address our growing mental health needs in the state. But we have to find ways to get 500,000 Georgians to get some version of healthcare,” said Derek Mallow. “We have to find ways to expand Medicaid. Arkansas has done it, Alabama, Mississippi and other states have done it. We cannot be the last state in the union for having healthcare.”

Governor Kemp said his two programs cover 1.5 million people, which is 200,000 more than traditional Medicaid expansion but democrats said that not expanding Medicaid means leaving federal dollars untapped.