GA Medicaid to Receive Over 10 Million Dollars in Settlement

GA Attorney General Sam Olens announced that the GA Medicaid Program will receive over 10 million dollars in one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in history. GlaxoSmithKline, a large pharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom (UK) and producer of some name brand drugs such as Paxil, Advair, and Zofran, has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to drug labeling. Some of the charges include:

• Marketing the depression drug Paxil for off-label uses, such as use by children and adolescents;
• Marketing the depression drug Wellbutrin for off-label uses, such as for weight loss and treatment of sexual dysfunction, and at higher-than-approved dosages;
• Marketing the asthma drug Advair for off-label uses, including first-line use for asthma;
• ..........

For a list of all the charges and more info about the settlement, read the statement issued by the GA Attorney General.

Medicaid a Federal/State insurance plan for low income families, the disabled, children, and the elderly. 

Read our related article on the Health Care Law's expansion of Medicaid in GA.

The Supreme Court Upholds the Health Care Law

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued their ruling on President Obama's health care law. They largely upheld the entire law, except for a provision giving the federal government power to take away states existing Medicaid money should they choose to not expand Medicaid coverage to more people. One widely politicised provision that was upheld is the Individual Mandate which requires all people to purchase health insurance, with some people receiving government assistance through Medicaid to do so. The mandate was the main provision of the law expected to be struck down by many analysts.

What does this mean for GA? Nothing, says Gov. Nathan Deal in an article reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. GA will continue to wait to implement the major provisions of the law until the election in November. Republican presidential hopefully Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal the law and so have the republicans in congress. If that happens, all preparations made for the law to go into effect would be wasted. Some though, have criticized the Governors actions as placing politics before the health of low income Georgians.

For our patients, the law means that everyone will have to purchase health insurance by 2014. By that time there will be online exchanges where people can go to shop for health insurance. Insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on age, sex, or pre-existing conditions. If patients meet certain low-income thresholds, they will be put on Medicaid. 

The Community Health Center will continue to serve all people in our community, irrespective of having insurance or no insurance. We will continue to monitor the progression of the health care law and how it affects our patients to keep you informed.

New Medicare Information Center

PhotostockIn order to better serve our growing population of Medicare patients, the Community Health Center is launching our new Medicare Information Center. It will serve as a one stop shop for information about Medicare, its costs, and who is eligible, what services we provide to Medicare beneficiaries at the Community Health Center. 

We have broken it down into three easy sections:

• Medicare Basics
• Wellness
• Primary Care

We are also building up our FAQ library to provide lots of information for Medicare beneficiaries and their families who are doing research on their Medicare Health Insurance. Come back often because we will be adding more information throughout the summer.

Once your done researching, you can request your next preventative care or sick visit online by filling out our online appointment form or give us a call at our office at 678-398-6548.

New Volunteer Position Posted: Data Entry Volunteer

Check out our new volunteer posting for a Data Entry Volunteer!

Office Closed - June 5th at 12:00pm

Dear CHC Patients,

Our office will be closing early on Tuesday, June 5th for administrative purposes. If you need to contact one of our medical / dental providers or would like to make an appointment, please call our office phone number at 678-398-6548 and leave a detailed message. We will begin returning phone calls on Wednesday, June 6th.