Gov. Brian Kemp’s tough budget plan spares two giant health care programs from cuts: Medicaid, and the Georgia health plan covering teachers and state employees.

But in a Thursday hearing, state lawmakers were briefed on funding cuts in other state health programs, including behavioral health services and physician training programs.

State agencies are tasked to meet Kemp’s directive to cut spending by 4 percent this fiscal year and 6 percent in fiscal 2021. The governor’s goal is to save about $200 million this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and $300 million next fiscal year.

Besides questions on budget cuts, ...

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A powerful trade association representing the chemical industry is testing the air in seven Georgia locations to measure ethylene oxide, a toxic gas used for sterilizing medical supplies.

“These sites were selected to get a broad range of data on background levels of [ethylene oxide] across differing environments,” said Tom Flanagin, a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, who confirmed the testing in an email to Georgia Health News.

Background levels of a chemical are levels measured when there are no specific, identifiable sources likely to influence the data, said Barry Ryan, a professor of chemistry ...

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Not getting enough exercise? It’s not just you.

More than one in four Georgians report that they are physically inactive, among the highest rates in the country, the CDC reports.

Physical inactivity for adults is defined as not participating in any leisure-time physical activities over the last month – such as running, walking for exercise, or gardening.

The 28.5 percent of Georgians reporting being physically inactive is in line with the average in the South, which had the highest prevalence among regions.

States and territories ranged from having 17.3 percent to 47.7 ...

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Gov.  Brian Kemp pushed for a legislative remedy for the problem of surprise medical billing in his Thursday address to Georgia lawmakers.

Kemp, a Republican, also touted his waiver proposals, passed last year by the General Assembly, as solutions to lower health care costs and add a pathway for uninsured Georgians to access medical services.

The governor said he would establish a professorship for Parkinson’s disease research at the University of Georgia, in honor of recently retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson. The Marietta Republican, who has the disease and stepped down early because of its effects, ...

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