Senate Resolution

556, which passed during the 2000 session, created the committee.

Members will

be charged with studying the conditions, needs, issues and problems of

funding hospital indigent care. "There is a social and legal obligation

to treat all patients in need of care but too many hospitals are getting

shortchanged because of a lack of funding," said Cox. "Many

areas served by these hospitals are also very dependent on jobs and payrolls

to support the local economy, particularly in rural areas of the state,

so when a hospital goes under it really hits hard."

According to

SR556, Georgia's 157 community acute-care hospitals incurred indigent,

charity and bad debt costs that exceeded $750 million in 1998.

Also noted

in the legislation, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 reduced Georgia's

disproportionate share of hospital payments through the Indigent Care

Trust Fund by $77 million over five years, and only 48 of the state's

159 counties are contributing to the costs of hospital care to their residents,

with hospitals absorbing the unpaid costs.

"Three

Georgia hospitals have closed in the past six months as a result of financial

losses due to uncompensated care costs, and approximately 90 Georgia Hospitals

]lost money in providing patient care because of the increased amount

of uncompensated care costs," the resolution states.

There are approximately

1.4 million people without health insurance in Georgia.

Cox is a member

of the Health and Ecology, Education and Industry committees.