The Georgia Board of Community Health approved a $5.7 billion budget request for fiscal 2026 Thursday for the agency that runs the state’s Medicaid program.

That represents a $347 million increase over the Department of Community Health’s (DCH) current spending plan, which took effect last month.

While Georgia’s aged, blind, and disabled populations account for the largest number of Medicaid enrollees, most of the spending increase – $287 million – would go toward low-income Medicaid recipients, primarily women and children.

The DCH is projecting a significant increase in Medicaid enrollment later this year and next year with the end of the federal redetermination process, Joe Hood, the agency’s chief operating officer, told board members Thursday.

The federal government prohibited disenrolling any Medicaid recipients during the COVID pandemic. When the national public health emergency was declared at an end in April of last year, states began reassessing eligibility for Medicaid coverage.

As a result, Medicaid enrollment in Georgia declined. However, a surge in enrollment is expected to start later this fiscal year moving into fiscal 2026, which takes effect next July.

“Enrollment is what is really driving our budget request,” Hood said.

The fiscal 2026 budget request board members approved Thursday also includes increases for nursing home operations and prescription drugs.

The DCH will submit the proposed spending plan to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget later this year. Gov. Brian Kemp will present his budget recommendations to the General Assembly in January.

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