It appears straightforward, noncontroversial. The bill would move the state’s Public Health unit out of its current department and make it an independent agency, reporting directly to the governor. And House Bill 214 breezed through the House with a 151-9 vote, and headed to the state Senate. But some supporters are concerned that Tea Party…
Only about one in three Georgia voters want lawmakers to repeal health care reform entirely, despite strong opposition to the new law among the state’s political leadership. While 31 percent want the law repealed, an additional 29 percent want lawmakers to throw out parts of the Affordable Care Act – possibly targeting the health reform requirement…
It’s not just Lyme disease: Under-the-radar tick diseases are increasing in the U.S. Health journalist Maryn McKenna tracks the trend and offers tips on how to avoid these infections, on msnbc.com.
Raising taxes is, at best, a tough sell in the current political climate. Several health organizations, though, hope that Georgia legislators can make at least one exception – and boost the state tax on cigarettes. The groups are urging lawmakers to raise the current state tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1, from the…
The flurry of Georgia legislation targeting illegal immigrants includes a bill that would place a new reporting requirement on hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. House Bill 296 would require those medical providers to count the illegal immigrants they treat, the type of services provided, the cost of the care, and the method…
Georgia physicians have not seen a pay increase under Medicaid in 10 years. And a proposed 1 percent cut in that payment would exacerbate the state’s shortage of primary care doctors, physicians told state lawmakers Thursday. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health heard sometimes-emotional public testimony from medical providers, people with disabilities, and consumer advocacy…
Georgia typically lags other states on key health indicators, such as childhood obesity, cardiovascular health and infant mortality. But on a newly released ‘’couch potato’’ index, based on 2008 data, Georgia beats the national average and several Southeastern states. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 23.2 percent of Georgia adults…
Three Georgia hospital systems have gone one step beyond banning smoking on their campuses. They won’t hire people who smoke. The three health systems — Gwinnett Medical Center, DeKalb Medical Center, and Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany — will drop job applicants from their candidate list if a blood test for nicotine comes up…
The push to create an independent state agency for Public Health gained legislative steam with the introduction Thursday of a bill in the General Assembly. The backers of House Bill 214 include prominent health leaders. They are led by Rep. Mickey Channell (R-Greensboro), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and a legislator who…
“Pill mills’’ increasingly have grabbed the attention of police and politicians across Georgia. These unscrupulous pain clinics sell prescription narcotics such as oxycodone to patients for nonmedical uses. The sales have led to an increase in prescription drug abuse, the country’s fastest-growing drug problem. Often, the prescription abuse has led to death. In Cobb County,…