This week’s vetoes by Gov. Nathan Deal included a little-noticed bill related to Medicaid. House Bill 489 would have barred the state from paying a contingency fee to a contractor to recover Medicaid overpayments to doctors and hospitals. Implementing the bill would have put Georgia’s Medicaid program in conflict with federal law, Deal said in his…
As it closes this week, the 2011 General Assembly will rank as one of the most important legislative sessions for health care in recent years. That’s not only because of the bills that passed. Even defeated proposals drew high-octane debates over significant health issues. Georgia’s Legislature typically deals with scores of health care bills, but this…
Shirley Mapp was admitted to Athens Regional Medical Center for chest pain in 2006. When her doctor came into the room, Mapp recalls, he didn’t look at her or speak to her. “He said to the nurses, ‘There’s nothing wrong with her heart. She’s just got high blood pressure.’ ” Then he left the room without…
Georgia physicians have not seen a pay increase under Medicaid in 10 years. And a proposed 1 percent cut in that payment would exacerbate the state’s shortage of primary care doctors, physicians told state lawmakers Thursday. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health heard sometimes-emotional public testimony from medical providers, people with disabilities, and consumer advocacy…
Few people would leave a successful, high-paying career for a path involving years of school and the possibility of failure. But that was exactly what Katie Zhang — a health care consultant who advised hospitals and other clients about financial management — chose to do. And now she is a 25-year-old, first-year medical student at the…
Consumer Reports provides a fascinating survey on what physicians say about their patients. Those who were interviewed said patients can get the most out of their interactions with a physician if they value continuity in that relationship, take their meds, and even take notes while in the exam room. Other guidance involves patient research of…