The hospitals also indirectly created more than 283,000 full-time jobs in the state in 2011 and generated nearly $15.2 billion in household earnings, according to the report.
Despite fueling the state’s economy, hospitals in Georgia still face significant fiscal challenges due to an expanding uninsured population and rising premiums and an unstable health insurance market, according to the GHA. In 2011, the Georgia Department of Community Health found 38 percent of the state’s hospitals had a negative operating margin, and 55 percent of rural hospitals lost money.
Furthermore, the GHA noted hospitals will face significant pay cuts under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, reductions that will hurt Georgia hospitals in particular because of the state’s decision not to expand its Medicaid program. Additionally, CMS still hasn’t approved a provider fee for Georgia hospitals, a financing formula that helps cover the costs of the state’s Medicaid program.
“If everything remains the same, the federal ACA will force significant payment cuts on Georgia hospitals even though hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible Georgians will not have health care coverage,” GHA President Earl Rogers said in a news release. “We will continue to work with the state to come up with a solution that is best for Georgia residents and our state’s healthcare delivery system.”
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