Balancing the budget: Putting the strain on Medicare

For low income families, and people who lack health insurance Alan Essig's recent comments regarding the state of Georgia's budget will not be good news. Essig who is the head of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), is in a good position to speak on the revenues and projections of the state's budget. And according to projections the outlook is not good and the options to reduce the budget deficit are not pretty with health care services and Medicare targets for cuts in spending.

Georgia faces $4.6 billion deficit

According to Essig there are two ways to save money on Medicare. The first is to just cut services, which means fewer low-income pregnant women, elderly, disabled and children will be helped, which will add to the state's uninsured numbers. The other way is to decrease the amount paid to health care providers – hospitals and doctors – by up to 20 percent. Georgia already has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country.

And with President Obama's health care reform bill stalling, individuals and families need to look at every option for low cost health insurance or run the risk of being one of the nations under or uninsured.