This is the fifth in a series of articles reported in Northwest Georgia, an area rich in stories about unmet health needs and about people and programs making a difference. Georgia Health News and the health and medical journalism graduate program at UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication collaborated to produce this series, made possible…
This is the fourth in a series of articles reported in Northwest Georgia, an area rich in stories about unmet health needs and about people and programs making a difference. Georgia Health News and the health and medical journalism graduate program at UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication collaborated to produce this series, made possible…
Oconee Regional Medical Center, a financially troubled Milledgeville hospital, has agreed to be sold to a California-based organization. Prime Healthcare Foundation will buy the Middle Georgia hospital for $12 million under the deal, announced Wednesday evening. The nonprofit foundation is connected with Prime Healthcare Services, which operates 44 hospitals in 14 states. “Our goal when…
Georgia and other states would have more control over health care — its rules, spending and benefits — under the bill that passed the U.S. House on Thursday. The revised version of the Republican-backed health bill, approved narrowly in the House, would allow states to get waivers to create insurance regulations much different from the current…
HCA has agreed to acquire Memorial Health’s financially struggling hospital in Savannah in a $710 million deal. The agreement, announced Wednesday night, would provide much-needed cash infusion for Memorial University Medical Center, a large safety-net hospital that has been looking for a partner. The deal would also vault HCA, a national for-profit hospital chain, into…
Georgia is rolling out an expensive eligibility determination system for Medicaid, food stamps and other public benefits, with officials hoping to avoid the massive problems with a similar set-up in Rhode Island, operated by the same vendor. The new computer system, delivered by Deloitte Consulting, has a price tag of $380 million, with all but…
Debra Wood went to the emergency room four years ago because her abdomen was swollen and acutely painful. That led to a 12-day stay in the hospital. While she was there, she also learned that she had diabetes. Wood had no health insurance at the time, and after being discharged she was bombarded with hospital…
While the Affordable Care Act has brought down the number of uninsured adults in the United States, huge gaps persist in how much access to care people really have. Currently, about 14 percent of Georgians are uninsured. And many of these people have problems — such as mental health issues — that need highly specific…
The final day of the Georgia General Assembly brought last-minute approval of some health care bills Thursday – along with disappointment over pieces of legislation that didn’t pass. The failures included the high-profile effort to halt “surprise’’ medical bills, and a proposal to require Georgia schools and day care centers to test their drinking fountains…
The state’s hospital industry is breathing easier after U.S. House leaders pulled their health care proposal before a scheduled vote Friday. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the GOP proposal to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, was withdrawn because it did not have enough votes to pass. The biggest relief in…