A state Senate health committee Thursday approved a bill to offer optional testing of Georgia newborns for Krabbe disease, a rare genetic disorder. The form of Krabbe that strikes newborns is caused by a change, or mutation, in the gene that carries the blueprints for an enzyme called galactosylceramidase, which is crucial to wrapping protective…
Dr. Raj Miniyar, a Rome pediatrician, opened a new practice in nearby Trion a year ago. That office became the only pediatric practice in Trion, in the center of a rural county in northwest Georgia where 28 percent of children live in poverty. Miniyar says that when he sees a Medicaid patient for an ear…
This article was jointly reported by WebMD Health News and Georgia Health News Jackson Garcia was born “healthy and round and full of hair.” But at 5 months old, he started getting fussy around mealtimes and refused food. “My worst fear was colic,” said his mother, April Garcia, who lives in Lawrenceville, Ga.. When Jackson didn’t…
How would the new health care plan proposed by congressional Republicans affect Georgia? Much of the impact has yet to be analyzed. Under many of the plan’s elements, though, the states would be treated similarly. One striking change nationwide would fulfill a longtime GOP campaign promise: The newly unveiled American Health Care Act would eliminate…
The state Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved a bill to require Georgia schools and child care centers to test for lead contamination in their water. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat, was passed by a 50-1 vote on Crossover Day. That’s the last day for a bill to move from one…
State health officials report that flu cases remain widespread in Georgia. The Department of Public Health said that through the week of Jan. 29 through Feb. 4, there had been 376 hospitalizations in metro Atlanta due to influenza so far this season. That’s up from 61 at the same time a year ago. The state…
WellCare announced Monday that Sonya Nelson is the new president of the health insurer’s Georgia operations. Tampa-based WellCare is the biggest of the three HMO-like Care Management Organizations (CMOs) currently serving the Medicaid and PeachCare populations in Georgia, with about 571,000 members. WellCare also has 40,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 23,000 Medicare Prescription Drug…
Georgia lawmakers passed major health care legislation Friday, including a bill to plug a $900 million hole in the state Medicaid budget. The Georgia House voted 152-14 to approve the renewal of the hospital “provider fee” for another three years. Senate Bill 70, which passed the Senate last week, will now go to Gov. Nathan…
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta announced plans Thursday to build a new pediatric hospital at a prime location along I-85, with a projected construction cost of at least $1 billion. Children’s currently runs three pediatric hospitals in Atlanta. In the announcement, the system’s leaders cited the need for more capacity to meet growing demand for services….
A House committee unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would allow dental hygienists to practice in school clinics, nursing homes and safety-net locations without having a dentist present. The passage of House Bill 154 by the House Health and Human Services Committee comes a year after the sudden collapse of similar legislation in the 2016 General…