Lawmakers reach across aisle, call 2022 ‘the year of mental health’

By Jill Nolin Bipartisan momentum for action on mental health in the wake of the pandemic appears to be building ahead of next year’s legislative session. A group of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and both chambers gathered this week at the state Capitol for a press conference, with several declaring 2022 to…

Patient safety ratings for Georgia hospitals show decline since spring

About 20 percent of Georgia hospitals got an “A’’ group in the Leapfrog Group’s autumn patient safety ratings, released Wednesday. That’s a lower percentage than in the spring, when 31.6 percent earned the top grade. The safety grades come out twice a year. They are meant to provide safety information to consumers so they can…

Decline in Georgia’s Covid numbers may be just a lull

The recent news on Covid in Georgia appears quite good – cases, hospitalizations and deaths have all dropped to a low plateau, state health officials said Tuesday. But the number of vaccinations has also shown a recent decline, with the rate of Georgia residents fully vaccinated now hovering at about 50 percent. During October, vaccinations…

Uninsured in Georgia, South would win big under Democrats’ plan

By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller At least 2.2 million low-income adults — nearly all in Texas and the Southeast — would be eligible for government-funded health insurance under the Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social spending and climate change plan. That’s the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act but…

Commentary: Medicare pay cuts will do harm

Physical therapists can help seniors stay active and independent. And this therapy can also reduce the risk of falls, which lead to more than 30,000 deaths annually. But proposed federal payment cuts under Medicare threaten the financial stability of physical therapists, says Zach Walston, an Alpharetta-based physical therapist, in a new GHN Commentary. “Additionally, with…

Medicare penalties hit U.S. hospitals hard, including in Georgia

Medicare is reducing payments to nearly half of the nation’s hospitals for excessive patient readmissions, including 81 in Georgia, Kaiser Health News reported Thursday. The total penalized in Georgia represent 55 percent of the state’s hospitals, higher than the national average of 47 percent. But if you remove facilities that are exempt from penalties from…

Link confirmed between Georgian’s death and aromatherapy spray

CDC testing has confirmed that an aromatherapy spray or one of its ingredients caused melioidosis infections in four people, including a Georgian who died of the rare disease. The bacteria found in the spray in the Georgian’s home genetically matched the strains found in that individual, as well as patients in Kansas, Minnesota and Texas,…

State says technical ‘reporting errors’ caused data gap on kids’ Medicaid referrals

State officials say “reporting errors’’ from the government led to recent data indicating that Georgia had a stunningly low rate of referring poor kids under Medicaid to specialty medical services. “We’re certainly not below every single state’’ when it comes to referrals, Ryan Loke, deputy commissioner of the Department of Community Health, told the agency’s…

Georgian’s death appears linked to bacteria in aromatherapy spray used in home

A Georgia resident died this summer of a rare disease caused by bacteria that appears linked to an aromatherapy spray, the CDC said Friday. The Georgian died of melioidosis, and was one of four people infected with bacteria similar to that found in a contaminated spray sold at some Walmart stores. The spray, “Better Homes…

The Yelp of Covid: Vigilantes providing safety tips for consumers

By Morgan Gonzales Melissa Lee had more to deal with than funeral planning when her husband, Dan Williams, died by suicide in January. She also was faced with continuing Dan’s 1,400-member Facebook group, “Athens, GA Mask Grades 2.0,” designed to help residents of Athens protect themselves from Covid-19 by grading local businesses on their safety measures….