By Jill Nolin | Editor
State health officials are pushing the Trump administration to treat Georgia’s partial Medicaid expansion the same as a fully expanded program when it comes to funding. The Kemp administration already tried this early on, but this time state officials are blaming the new federal Medicaid rules that were included in Trump’s tax cut and spending measure for growing the state’s program and raising the state’s costs. By the state’s estimate, another 100,000 Georgians would gain access to a program that currently only serves about 20,000 people.
In other news, the Georgia Supreme Court says it will no longer routinely consider appeals for murder cases where defendants are not facing the death penalty starting next July. There are differing opinions on whether that is a good thing for the state’s justice system.
New federal guidelines would make the state’s Medicaid program financially unsustainable, state health officials said at the Board of Community Health meeting in August. the_burtons/Getty Images
HEALTH
By Alander Rocha
Georgia health officials are asking the Trump administration for more funding for the state’s partial Medicaid expansion program because they say federal changes are expected to increase enrollment by about 100,000 people, raising the costs of the program.
The Board of Community Health, which oversees Georgia’s Medicaid program, announced at its Thursday meeting that they are once again asking the federal government to increase the federal match from about 67% to 90%, which is what states that have fully expanded Medicaid receive for providing coverage to a larger population.
The Nathan Deal Judicial Center is home to the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. John McCosh/Georgia Recorder
COURTS
By Maya Homan
Starting next summer, Georgia’s highest court will no longer routinely hear appeals in murder cases.
The decision was announced Thursday as part of a concurring opinion from Chief Justice Nels Peterson that was tied to a murder case out of Fulton County, Coleman v. The State, though it was not clear why Peterson’s opinion was attached to that case. Murder conviction appeals, which account for more than half of the Georgia Supreme Court’s published cases, will be heard in the Georgia Court of Appeals starting July 2027.
Flock Safety license plate readers are typically mounted on tall poles, with a camera and solar panel on top. The company says its technology is used in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states in partnership with thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety)
SURVEILLANCE
By Amanda Watford
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions.
The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down from 30, while adding tools to restrict data sharing between agencies and detect potentially abusive searches. Flock also plans to require law enforcement users to associate searches with case codes and automatically suspend users whose activity is flagged as abnormal.
The changes come amid growing scrutiny of a surveillance network that Flock says has more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and serves thousands of law enforcement agencies and communities.
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