Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue met with hospital leaders Friday to talk about his proposal to take away their sales tax exemption and cut Medicaid payments to them, moves the Georgia Hospital Association called "devastating."
Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said the moves became necessary after the hospitals "poisoned the waters" against an earlier Perdue proposal to put a 1.6 percent fee on their revenues to cover a Medicaid shortfall.
GHA leaders will meet over the weekend with the idea of presenting a counterproposal next week, spokesman Kevin Bloye said, a move the governor's office applauded.
The meeting with 40 to 50 hospital leaders gave Perdue a chance to try to allay some fears they had about the provider fee, Brantley said.
"They were not afraid of the 1.6 percent fee; they were afraid of what might come next," he said. "We've heard this slippery slope argument, that the tax could go up to 5.5 percent."
Perdue tried to assure them he had no plans to raise it but, as with any tax or fee, future legislatures could, Brantley said.
Hospitals also "didn't want the money to be collected and spent on other things," he said.
The plan in next fiscal year's budget is to use the money to not only cover a Medicaid shortfall but also raise rates by 14 percent "so that every bit of that money raised stays in the health care industry and solves our Medicaid budget issue," Brantley said.
Neither side appears too happy about the proposals each has advanced. Perdue set forth a 10.25 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements along with removing the sales tax exemption, which would raise the $274 million that the provider fee would have brought in.
The hospitals have countered with a $1-a-pack raise in the tobacco tax, an idea Brantley said is not going anywhere in the Legislature. Even the hospitals concede it might be a tough sell, particularly for lawmakers who have signed pledges not to raise taxes.
"We certainly understand that, but we also realize, too, that we're in unprecedented times as far as the state budget goes," Bloye said. "This is probably the worst budget crisis our state has ever seen. We're asking these same leaders to revisit this issue and do what's best for the state as a whole."
Hospital leaders will continue meeting over the weekend "to talk about what are some ways that we can work with the state, what are some things that we can accept, things that we clearly cannot accept and coming back with sort of a counterproposal," Bloye said.
The governor's office took that as a good sign, Brantley said.
"I think that is tremendous news, and that really shows a good-faith effort on their part to really look at solutions," he said. "I can't tell you how pleased we are with the cooperative attitude that hospital folks came in with."
FEES: Gov. Sonny Perdue accepted recommendations from legislators to adjust fees the state charges for various services, such as inspecting food-processing plants. Most of the fees haven't been raised since they were first imposed, many of them decades ago.
PREMIUMS: Parents paying for health coverage through PeachCare for Kids would see their monthly bills rise under Perdue's plan for a total of $2.2 million.
HOSPITAL TAXES: The sales tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals on the items they purchase would be removed, which Perdue estimates will raise $130 million.
SALES-TAX HOLIDAY: Perdue would eliminate the back-to-school sales tax holiday, when some supplies and clothing are exempt, and the spring holiday.
CLASS SIZE: "It's pretty evident that you're going to have a temporary increase in class size," said Kelly McCutcheon, the president of the Atlanta-based think tank Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
MEDICAL CARE: It might be harder to find a physician who accepts new Medicaid patients, McCutheon said. People with private insurance could see premiums rise as providers seek to recover from the 10.25 percent cut in their payments by shifting costs to other patients, he said.
-- Morris News Service
ATLANTA --- State Superintendent Kathy Cox called Friday for lottery ticket prices to be raised to help pay for K-12 education in Georgia.
Cox said during an appearance on CNN that raising the price by just 50 cents per ticket could raise $350 million to help fill a massive hole left by state budget cuts in the past two years. Cox said raising prices would ensure K-12 got money while also preserving funding for the HOPE college scholarship and the state's prekindergarten programs.
"In down economic times, people are still buying lottery tickets," said Cox, a Republican running for her third term.
The move likely wouldn't get much support from state lawmakers.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Hill said Friday he had considered adding an excise tax on lottery ticket sales to fund education. But he said the idea "didn't gain much traction" among his colleagues.
"It's a tough sell," said Hill, R-Reidsville.
Lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick declined comment. Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, declined comment because Cox has not discussed the plan with the governor.
-- Associated Press
Raising lottery tickets will cut in half the amount of money being spent on legalized gambling...people are trying to end their economic woes when they play...and raising money won't help anyone but politicians and lobbyists line their pockets..who do you think we are...turnips that just fell off the truck? God what lies!
"The hospitals have countered with a $1-a-pack raise in the tobacco tax".....the only sane thing to come out of the entire meeting!
Sanity is not required in the legislature, however, so that particular idea will die, not unlike the people who use tobacco.
I didn't vote for him.....twice. He's been giving us the shaft from day one.
There is a solution here. Items such as cigarettes, alcohol and junk food are what have led us to the health problems we face. Place a tax on soft drinks, fast food and sweets. It will raise hundreds of millions and should be directed specifically to covering health care costs.
Government also needs to start outlining exactly what will be provided in terms of health care. Medicare and Medicaid now pay for procedures and equipment that the programs were never designed to provide. Recipients are going to need to learn to due with less or divert money away from other parts of their life. I went for years without a car, TV or cell phone to save money so I could have other things that I needed. When I did get a TV it took me years to get cable. But in our current, everything is a right society, most are not willing to due with less. At some point we need government to just say no.
sonny give me all your money perdue will be remember for only two things, he took the state away from the dumbocrats and now he's giving it back to them.
Perdue is not for Ga. He is all out for Atlanta. He is no friend of Augusta and not to be trusted.
What they have to do is impose a tax on all items bought on the internet and get shiped to GA.
So let me get this straight. They want to cut medicaid benefits by 10%. The hospitals are still forced (by law) to take these patients. So, to pay for the loss of revenue they are going to increase their fees to everyone else causing my insurance premiums to rise - even if I don't happen to use the hospital for years.
How about cutting the services available to the medicaid patients instead? Make it so that only life threatening emergencies are covered. Why should I have to pay more, again, to support these people who do not support themselves.
Just another tax increase. Take from the haves and give to the have nots. Thanks government/robin hood. Thanks alot.
There are probably quite a few tax exemptions that need to be done away with. Start with getting rid of the sales tax exemption for ALL non-profits. Next eliminae exemption for property taxes. If everyone pays their fair share in taxes, then that helps take pressure off all of us tax payers.
I can't wait for the next election! Augustans need a governor that is for our city and surrounding counties. Take a hike, Sonny!
Hospitals are profit driven organizations who have no soul when it comes to charges/fees that patients must pay. It is ludicrous that they are allowed to charge a patient $45 to administer an asprin (tylenol) or a medication brought from home (and this is true; just ask for an itemization of your next bill--and be prepared for the shock of your life!). Now that this proposal to discontinue the tax exemption is imminent, patients will face more rising costs--no profit driven organization, agency, or business is willing to absorb these costs in their budget like they used to do. Nice, clever methods to continually gouge the public have become business as usual.
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