Healthcare could emerge as one of the defining policy fights in Georgia’s race for governor, according to <a href="https://georgiahealthinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Issue-Brief-Perspectives-2026.pdf” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>a new statewide pollthat found concerns over cost, access and quality cut across political lines.
More than three-quarters of likely voters surveyed in a statewide study commissioned by Georgia Health Initiativeand administered by the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Centersaid a gubernatorial candidate’s stance on healthcare matters when deciding whom to support
The poll also found broad agreement on several areas voters want Georgia’s next governor to address, including access to insurance, maternal healthcare and behavioral health services.
The findings come as Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican nominee Rick Jackson sharpen competing visions for the state’s healthcare system ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Bottoms secured the Democratic nomination in May, while Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, won the Republican nomination after defeating Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a June runoff.
More than 1,000 likely Georgia voters responded, according to the organization, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit private foundation focused on improving health in the state.
The results provide a snapshot of an electorate that may disagree on politics but shares some of the same anxieties about getting and paying for medical care
In the survey, 62% of voters said healthcare costs too much, while 37% said they had skipped or delayed care because of cost within the past year, including people with insurance
The poll also found roughly eight in 10 voters believe the quality of care someone receives can depend on their insurance or where they live
A presentation accompanying the findings identified high costs, shortages of specialty and behavioral health providers and gaps in rural health services among the barriers Georgians said they encounter when trying to obtain care. It also found more than one in five surveyed voters said they had difficulty accessing needed care during the past year.
Bottoms and Jackson offer different paths on Medicaid
Bottoms has said she would seek to end Georgia Pathways to Coverage, the Medicaid program established under Kemp, and instead pursue full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act
Jackson has rejected traditional expansion but recently described his approach as an “intelligent Medicaid expansion,” emphasizing work requirements, changes to federal funding and an effort to move more Georgians into commercial insurance.
The candidates outlined those differences last week while addressing more than 1,000 business leaders at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Athens.
Georgia has not adopted full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Instead, Pathways provides Medicaid coverage to certain adults ages 19 to 64 earning up to 100% of the federal poverty level who meet qualifying activity requirements. In 2026, that income limit is $15,960 for one person. Participants are generally required to complete at least 80 hours of qualifying activities each month.
Bottoms and Jackson’s disagreement could become increasingly consequential. The federal government approved an extension of Pathways through Dec. 31, 2026. The timing means decisions about what comes next will be waiting almost immediately for the administration that takes office following November’s election.
But the new polling suggests voters’ expectations for the next governor extend beyond the Medicaid debate
“Georgia voters across the political spectrum say our next governor should prioritize healthcare,” said Cindy Zeldin, vice president of health policy and government affairs for Georgia Health Initiative.
Eighty-six percent identified increasing access to behavioral healthcare as a priority, while 81% said the same about maternal health services. Another 81% said ensuring everyone has access to health insurance should be a priority for the next governor.
