Here are 7 GA health care stories shaping summer, so far

From rising childbirth costs to a major overhaul of medical marijuana laws, Georgia’s healthcare landscape saw significant developments this summer. Here’s a roundup of the most consequential health stories affecting residents across the state.

Here are key takeaways:

• Georgia ranked 38th nationally in the 2024 America’s Health Rankings Annual Report, with the state finishing 46th in overall clinical care and physical distress climbing 42% between 2020 and 2024, with more than 1 in 6 Georgia adults skipping a doctor visit last year because they couldn’t afford it.
• Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act, the biggest update to medical cannabis law in more than a decade, expanding qualifying conditions to include lupus, late-stage cancer, Parkinson’s, MS and ALS.
• Under the new cannabis law, patients 21 and older may now vaporize medical cannabis at home, with a new possession cap of 12,000 milligrams of THC replacing the former 5% potency limit. Smoking and recreational use remain prohibited.
• Georgia’s tap water scored 85.9 on quality — slightly above the national average of 77.9 — but PFAS “forever chemicals” are showing up in several of the state’s largest cities, with Savannah testing cleanest and Atlanta testing lowest among nine systems studied.
• Having a baby in Georgia costs an average of $29,187 in the first year when factoring in delivery, hospital stays, insurance and infant daycare, ranking the state sixth-most affordable out of 48 in a Go Au Pair analysis.
• Insured patients often pay more than uninsured patients for childbirth because prenegotiated contracts can lock in higher allowed amounts than the discounted cash rates hospitals sometimes offer, plus deductibles and coinsurance.
• The median journey from a 911 call to the emergency room in Georgia takes 57 minutes statewide, with on-scene times ranging from 18 to 20 minutes depending on region, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
• The Columbus region finished last in hospital handoff times in the first quarter of 2024, with one in 10 patients waiting nearly an hour for handoff alone — well above the national benchmark of 20 minutes or less.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.