Friday, February 1, 2013
Guv'ment House passes 'bed tax' with overwhelming support
Posted by Max Blau @maxblau on Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 1:05 PM
- Joeff Davis/CL File
- House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey, R-Buckhead, told lawmakers that bill's passage was vital
The lower chamber voted 147-18 to approve the legislation, which followed the Senate's swift passage of the bill two weeks ago. The measure would give the state Department of Community Health the authority to renew the expiring hospital tax. By extending the "bed tax," the DCH would prevent a shortfall in the state's Medicaid program estimated somewhere between $650 and $700 million.
House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Buckhead, addressed his fellow representatives before today's vote and reminded them how much the "bed tax" meant to Georgia's health care system.
"It's not just rural hospitals; it's not just urban hospitals. It's all hospitals that will be impacted," said Lindsey. "It will have a devastating impact on Grady Hospital as well as all hospitals that take care of a large number of indigent patients."
Few representatives seemed deterred by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist's opposition to the "bed tax." Despite his influence, most conservatives agreed with Lindsey, who added: "There are very few bills here that you will see in the General Assembly that will directly impact the lives of your constituents in the days ahead. This is one of those bills."
As Lindsey emphasized, the "bed tax" needed to pass. Failure to do so, in many ways, would have been catastrophic to the state's hospitals. But as I mentioned in this week's Last Word, Gov. Deal's tactics in getting the "bed tax" to sail through the General Assembly were expedient - and, to an extent, disgraceful.
By granting the DCH the authority to extend the "bed tax," the governor created a situation in which state lawmakers didn't have to vote directly on a tax hike. In doing so, senators and representatives sidestepped a tough decision on the issue, as they can now claim that they weren't responsible for a tax extension.
While ultimately expressing his support for the bill, state Rep. Brian Thomas, D-Lilburn, echoed that sentiment as he addressed his fellow lawmakers before today's vote took place.
"The fact that the governor felt compelled to take this approach to find the funding is somewhat of an indictment of the General Assembly's willingness to do its job," said Thomas. "Instead of tackling difficult problems that we have been elected to do, knowing that there be political criticism certainly from some quarters, I'm concerned that we're doing a bit of ducking and dodging."
The bill now heads to the governor's desk, where he'll likely sign off on it and put this issue to rest.
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