Finding ways to keep Georgians, hospitals healthy

We all agree that Georgia’s health care system is in crisis, but this perfect storm did not occur overnight, nor can it be remedied with a swift policy decision.

Along with many other conservative states, Georgia has been reticent to accept the changes offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Georgia Legislature has been creative over the last three years since the ACA took effect by supplanting state dollars in hopes of propping up our ailing health care infrastructure. This has been difficult to accomplish in a state reeling out of a recession.

State dollars are limited, as education accounts for 53.1 percent of state funds in fiscal year 2017, while healthcare accounts for only 18.9 percent. With an annual state budget of nearly $24 billion for about 10 million citizens, health care is a large expense and growing every day.

Unfortunately, over 400,000 Georgians exist without any health coverage in the so-called “coverage gap,” which drives the over-utilization of emergency departments and endangers critical safety net resources. It is clear that the current method of taking care of Georgians is not sustainable, and our safety net hospital systems are crumbling dramatically.

Since 2001, eight hospitals have closed and industry analysts estimate that roughly 15 to 20 are on watch lists because their finances are in a deficit. Hospitals are the integral fabric holding together prospering communities both rural and urban.

Of Georgia’s 159 counties, at least 108 are considered rural, with populations of less than 35,000. People cannot live and sustain a quality of life without access to some type of health care infrastructure, whether it is a primary health care clinic, or access to life-saving treatments or emergency services.

We must use limited state resources wisely in areas of highest need, first and foremost health services, especially those that could reduce health status disparities statewide. Every Georgian is paying for these disparities through increased health insurance premiums and inflated hospital costs.

When coupled with imminent federal- and state-mandated deadlines like the sunset of Medicaid and Medicare DSH (disproportional share hospital) payments, the hospital provider fee and reduced federal reimbursement rates for inclusion in the ACA, lawmakers are facing huge decisions in the 2017-2018 legislative session for sustaining our failing infrastructure.

There are many tools in the toolbox to help remedy the current health care situation. Georgia has already proven its innovative capabilities by pioneering a telemedicine network that serves as a model for other states. Now is the time to reopen the toolbox and re-examine what is available in the form of Medicaid waivers to maintain and help prosper our local communities and providers.

Georgians deserve an option to access affordable health care where logic outweighs politics. Our legislators need to be bold and brave, examining all pathways to move Georgia out of the perfect storm and into prosperity.

The following list shows some of the state’s spending from 2011 to 2017 on efforts to stabilize Georgia’s healthcare infrastructure. They total more than $70 million. Also, the state’s estimated cost for uncompensated care for 2014 (the most recent available data) is $1.75 billion.