Andy Miller, Senior Editor, has been a health care journalist for 29 years. Miller graduated from Duke in 1973 and received a master’s in education from Duke in 1979. He was a social studies teacher and basketball coach before switching careers to journalism. He entered the master’s in journalism program at University of North Carolina in 1984. He was hired by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he had editing and reporting positions before switching to health care in 1992. He covered that beat until 2009, when he retired. He launched Georgia Health News in 2010, where he continued as editor and CEO until Georgia Health News joined KFF Health News.
The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community — and in Georgia as a whole — means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.
“Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.
Political drama involving a rural Georgia county reflects how state regulations that govern when and where hospitals can be built or expanded are evolving.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
The suicide rate for Hispanics in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. The reasons are varied, say community leaders and mental health experts, citing factors such as language barriers, poverty, and a lack of bilingual mental health professionals.