About GHN - Georgia Health News
Georgia Health News was launched in 2010 as a nonprofit news service dedicated to covering health care across the state. We built our readership and media partnerships over the years with insightful, compelling articles that captured the interest of consumers, lawmakers, and industry officials across the state. In 2021, the GHN board decided to join...
Gerdeen Dyer – Georgia Health News
Sep 10, 2020 · Health care is a collaborative effort: Medical professionals and their patients must work together to achieve good outcomes. But there are outside factors that can frustrate these efforts. One such factor is a lack of decent housing for many patients. There are a surprising number of Georgians who leave their doctors’ appointments — or check out...
Qualifying for Medicaid, PeachCare – Georgia Health News
Government health insurance programs Medicaid and PeachCare cover 1.4 million Georgians. But thousands more who qualify for this insurance haven’t signed up for it, including a large number of uninsured children. Medicaid, jointly financed by the federal and state governments, covers the poor and the disabled. It is based on income and family size. Most...
Behind the curtain: The story of Grady’s narrow escape
May 24, 2016 · Mike King, a veteran health policy journalist who was a reporter, editor and editorial board member at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is the author of “A Spirit of Charity: Restoring the Bond between America and Its Public Hospitals.” The book, available for purchase May 31, traces the history of the nation’s urban public hospitals through the prism of Atlanta’s...
Rebate time: Thousands of Ambetter clients to get money back
Oct 7, 2019 · About 190,000 Georgians with health care policies from Ambetter of Peach State are getting rebates of $314 each. The payouts are required under a rule in the Affordable Care Act. The insurer owes a total of $59.8 million to its individual policyholders in Georgia, according to newly released federal figures. That’s a large chunk of...
Piedmont’s new payment plan: 25% upfront for some patients
Jun 28, 2019 · Piedmont Healthcare is requiring patients who shoulder the entire cost of a non-emergency medical service to pay 25 percent of the bill before they get the care. The system’s new upfront-payment policy was publicly revealed recently at the Healthcare Financial Management Association conference in Orlando. It was first reported by Modern Healthcare. The patients who will...
Struggling hospital in Milledgeville OKs purchase deal
May 11, 2017 · 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...
Piedmont buying 4 HCA hospitals in Macon, Cartersville, Snellville
May 3, 2021 · Piedmont Healthcare is adding four HCA hospitals to its network in a deal valued at close to $1 billion. The purchases from HCA, announced Monday, would make Atlanta-based Piedmont the leading system in Georgia in number of hospitals, at 15. The Emory and Wellstar systems are next, at 11. The deal had been rumored for...
Casino debate: How much harm does gambling do?
Gambling seems to be almost part of our daily lives. Many Georgians buy a lottery ticket, especially when the jackpot climbs. Some play poker for small stakes, and NFL games draw plenty of bets. And some folks from the Peach State take trips to casinos, which can be as far away as Las Vegas or...
Rockdale hospital officially joins Piedmont family
Rockdale Medical Center, about 25 miles east of Atlanta, has officially become the eighth hospital in the Piedmont Healthcare system. The hospital — in Conyers, the seat of Rockdale County — was purchased from LifePoint Health, a for-profit company based in Tennessee. Piedmont officials announced the completion of the deal Monday. The Atlanta-based system may not...