Georgians with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance would receive temporary federal subsidies under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

The Bridge to Medicaid Act would replace federal tax credits due to expire in 2026 with premium subsidies to help people with incomes between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level buy health coverage in the private market. The subsidies would continue for three years to give policymakers in Georgia and other states that have not expanded Medicaid time to debate the issue.

“Health care is a human right,” Warnock said Thursday. “In the richest nation in the world, it’s a travesty that there are still hundreds of thousands of Georgians who don’t have access to the affordable health care they need due solely to the craven decisions of state politicians.”

Georgia’s Republican governors and the GOP-controlled General Assembly have opposed Medicaid expansion since a Democratic Congress passed the Affordable Care Act early in the last decade, citing the cost to taxpayers.

Gov. Brian Kemp steered a limited Medicaid expansion through the legislature that took effect a year ago this month offering coverage to those with incomes up to 100% of the poverty level. However, far fewer Georgians than anticipated have enrolled in the program.

Republicans have pledged to consider a more robust Medicaid expansion when a state commission created this year to examine how Georgia can improve health-care access begins holding hearings.

But Kemp remains adamant that a full expansion of Medicaid will not happen on his watch. Georgia is among 10 states that have yet to expand Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

Four other Senate Democrats are co-sponsoring Warnock’s bill, including Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.