A month after metro Atlanta was announced as a focus of a federal anti-HIV initiative, Georgia lawmakers are moving forward on their own to fight the disease here. The Georgia House has passed legislation to facilitate needle exchange programs to help prevent new infections among intravenous drug users. Such programs allow drug users to get…
Hospital industry lobbying against health care regulatory changes paid off Thursday when the Georgia House voted against major certificate-of-need (CON) legislation by a 94-72 margin. House Bill 198 remained alive temporarily after the chamber approved a motion to reconsider the legislation. But by late afternoon, the lead sponsor, Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), said the bill…
A regulatory revamp in Georgia health care is hanging in the balance. A pointed TV ad and the fiery tweet that it provoked show the passions swirling around the issue. The state House on Thursday will consider a somewhat trimmed-down version of its originally proposed overhaul of the state’s certificate-of-need (CON) laws. The highly anticipated…
The proposed reform of the state’s certificate-of-need (CON) system faces an uncertain fate, just days before a legislative deadline. Lawmakers are considering the broadest revamp of the controversial regulatory program in years, and several hearings have been held on the issue. But Crossover Day is scheduled for March 7. That’s the day when a bill…
The proposed revamp of state health care regulations cleared a key hurdle Monday when a House committee approved House Bill 198. The vote followed contentious testimony last week about the potential impact of overhauling the state’s controversial certificate-of-need (CON) laws. CON governs the construction and expansion of health care facilities and services. Under the current laws,…
The state’s certificate-of-need (CON) system is under perhaps more legislative pressure than ever before. This set of health care industry regulations has inspired two bills that would fundamentally overhaul the system in Georgia. Last week GHN published a Commentary that supports that revamp. In a new Commentary, Dr. Lamar “Chip” Moree argues that CON should…
There are many good reasons why Georgia, like most other states in this country, has rejected decades of efforts by cream-skimming profit-seekers to repeal certificate-of-need laws. CON laws strike a balance between improving access to care, recognizing that a “free-market” system won’t work because hospitals must legally and ethically take all patients (regardless of their…
In a normal year for health care legislation, House Bill 321 would have attracted a ton of attention at the state Capitol. But with bills to provide a Medicaid waiver and to reform the state’s health care regulatory structure already drawing an intense spotlight, legislation to extend the hospital provider fee passed quietly – and…
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed legislation Tuesday to allow Gov. Brian Kemp to pursue health care waivers from the federal government. The panel’s 9-4 vote came after Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson (D-Stone Mountain) sought to open up the bill’s Medicaid waiver request to cover more Georgians. Henson’s bid to amend Senate…
The Georgia General Assembly is again wrestling with certificate-of-need (CON) legislation. Bills in past years have called for incremental changes in CON, the system that regulates the state’s health care industry, but the latest proposals aim for a major overhaul. As in past years, hospital groups are generally fighting the proposed changes. In a new…