The Georgia Senate approved legislation Tuesday to increase transparency of health care prices for consumers. Senate Bill 303 would give insured Georgians the ability to query their insurer to learn their out-of-pocket costs before getting non-emergency services from a physician or hospital. Consumers could also get data on the medical providers’ quality of care. Other…
For at least five years, proposals to curb surprise medical billing have hit roadblocks in the Georgia General Assembly. Health insurers and physicians have been sharply split over how to fix the problem, and lawmakers have tended to line up with one side or the other. The state Senate on Monday took a major step…
Wellstar Health System is looking for a partner to help transform Atlanta Medical Center. AMC has two campuses, with the biggest one a safety-net facility in central Atlanta, not far from Grady Memorial Hospital. The south campus is in East Point, just southwest of Atlanta. The nonprofit Wellstar took over the AMC facilities in its…
An agreement between a health insurer and a Rome hospital has shaved more than $10,000 off a surprise medical bill for a young asthma patient. Liam Stina’s hospital bill of more than $11,000 was featured in a Georgia Health News article last week. But the state department of insurance said Wednesday that a verbal agreement…
The medical malpractice liability situation in Georgia is hurting doctors, according to a leading physician group. Dr. Andrew Reisman, president of the Medical Association of Georgia, says the state Legislature must address the issue of tort reform as it has in the past. In a new GHN Commentary, he argues that recent Georgia court rulings have…
Lelia Stina had to act fast when her 4-year-old son, Liam, developed severe breathing problems last August. First she took him to an urgent care center in Rome, but it was a Sunday night and the center was closed. So she drove to Redmond Regional Medical Center, a hospital that’s in the network of her…
A recent legislative hearing in Atlanta featured a stream of PBM critics. South Georgia pharmacist Nikki Bryant said PBMs are putting her out of business. Cancer patient Katie Groover said they have “exhausting” bureaucratic processes that “take away patient choice.’’ Dr. Melissa Dillmon, a Rome oncologist, said PBMs often cause delays for patients trying to get…
Federal officials are asking Georgia for more information on the state’s request for a waiver to make changes to the health insurance exchange. In a letter dated Thursday to Gov. Brian Kemp, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicates that the “reinsurance’’ part of that waiver proposal is proceeding smoothly. Reinsurance aims…
Consumers often have no idea about what they will pay for a medical procedure – or about the quality of care they can expect to receive. But under a bill discussed Monday in state Senate committee hearing, more Georgia patients with insurance could get access to such information. Senate Bill 303 is part of a…
A new federal initiative on Medicaid could wind up altering Georgia’s waiver proposal on extending coverage to low-income adults. The Trump administration said Thursday that it’s encouraging states to seek a cap on federal Medicaid funding for covering working-age adults, in exchange for more state autonomy in running that program. The new option would not…