'Bed tax' a windfall for some, a big loser for others

Piedmont Healthcare and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are at odds over the state's "bed tax", a fee that GA hospitals pay to help prop up the state's Medicaid program. Hospitals pay the bed tax to the state, and the state sends the money back to them according to the level of Medicaid care they provide. This has meant millions in revenue for Children's and millions in losses for Piedmont. The hospital provider fee comes up for renewal in the next session of the Legislature. The central question: Should hospitals that don't see a heavy load of Medicaid patients help pay the costs of the hospitals that do?