Georgia Senate Adds Rural Hospital Funds to Tentative Budget

Although the Georgia Senate on Feb. 18 added $375,000 to the tentative 2002 budget to help 34 financially troubled rural hospitals through June, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D) said that he plans to "seek more funds" in the budget, which takes effect July 1, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Taylor, who requested that the Senate earmark the additional funding for rural hospitals, said that he will urge the state House to add $375,000 to "leverage more federal money" for low-income residents and seniors. "We have a handful of hospitals that, without this assistance, would close," Taylor said, pointing out that federal cuts in Medicare have hit rural hospitals "particularly hard." In addition, he plans to introduce legislation that would help to ease the burden placed on hospitals to offer health care benefits for their employees. "Some have catastrophic claims for serious illnesses (of employees) that are bringing them to the brink of bankruptcy. To me, that is sadly ironic," Taylor said (Pendered, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/19).