Georgia State Capitol.

Hospitals across Georgia have formed an alliance to address what are grave fiscal crises for many of them. The key goal is expanding Medicaid in the state –a  tough task in  Republican-dominated Georgia.

Becker’s Hospital Review noted that for “many years, many Georgia health facilities offset the cost of caring for the uninsured with Disproportionate Share Hospital payments. However, the Affordable Care Act calls for those payments to be phased out, and since Georgia has not expanded its Medicaid program, the state still has more than 400,000 uninsured residents, according to Atlanta Magazine.”

DSH payments are slated to end Jan. 1, 2018, and the loss of those funds is a cause of concern for large and small hospitals alike.”

Even large hospitals, such as Grady Memorial Hospital, in Atlanta, are  worried.  Consider that Grady’s mental-health clinic could be forced to close if it  can’t offset the loss of DSH payments.