Hospital officials traveled to the Georgia Capitol on Feb. 17 to oppose Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposed hospital tax, saying they preferred a tobacco tax to fill a Medicaid shortfall. Some 250 people—including hospital CEOs, Chamber of Commerce officials, and lobbyists for doctors, radiologists and dentists—attended a legislative public hearing on the governor's proposal to fill a $608 million funding gap in Medicaid in the fiscal 2011 state budget. Opponents said the tax would take millions from Georgia hospitals, many of which are struggling to make ends meet, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
