This article is reprinted with permission from Rural Health Quarterly When Laurie* moved to rural western Colorado, she thought she had found a tranquil oasis to rest and die. Then 32, she was sober and living with HIV, but her health was waning and the mid-1990s HIV medications were taking a toll on her body. “I moved…
Andy Miller is editor and CEO of Georgia Health News. Brenda Goodman is senior news writer for WebMD. On a recent evening in Waycross, GA, government officials gathered around card tables set up in a semi-circle on the polished wood floors of the city auditorium. There were representatives from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances…
Elbert Memorial Hospital, which has struggled financially, is getting a big boost this year through Georgia’s tax credit program for rural hospitals. A year ago, the state’s tax credit for donations to such hospitals was 90 percent, and nonprofit Elbert Memorial received about $136,000, says hospital authority Chairman Daniel Graves. But this year, the total…
The federal agency that runs Medicare has acknowledged making an error in its statement on hospital reimbursement when it disclosed its plan to recoup $55 million in improper payments to medical providers in Georgia and other states. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicated last week that hospitals were essentially paid twice for the same patient services….
The federal Medicare agency, citing contractor errors, is seeking to recoup nearly $55 million from hospitals and other medical providers in Georgia and other states. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told GHN on Wednesday that the agency found 268,000 claims from hospitals, rural health clinics and other providers that were erroneously paid through the traditional…
Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega is scheduled to close a month from now. But that will be just the first step of a complicated transaction that may result in a new hospital in Lumpkin County, whose mountain scenery and historical sites are an attraction for Atlanta tourists. Northeast Georgia Health System, based in nearby Gainesville,…
Springfield Baptist Church in Sparta recently played host to a celebration for three local sisters — Tennie S. Henderson, 103, Lillie S. Lewis, 100, and Julia S. Williams, 98 — who have continued the state’s recent history of very old residents. Two Georgia supercentenarians (people who have lived to or passed the age of 110) made…
The small South Georgia town of Plains currently has no practicing physician. But that’s about to change, thanks in part to advocacy from the town’s most famous resident. Former President Jimmy Carter’s efforts have helped lead Mercer University School of Medicine to open a primary clinic in the town next month, said the dean of…
Lauren McShane already had a master’s degree in public health, but wanted to branch out into the clinical side of health care. She considered going to medical school. Another possibility was becoming a physical therapist. But what she chose was taking up assistant programs at a physician assistant school. Her decision, she said, was based on…
A new report estimates that a full Medicaid expansion in Georgia would provide health insurance to 473,000 more residents in 2019. The Urban Institute policy brief, released Wednesday, is the latest to predict the effect of expansion on the state. Georgia is among 19 states that have not expanded Medicaid as outlined by the Affordable…