ATLANTA (November 14, 2008) – As part of the joint Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting
series, the Community Health subcommittee and the Best Value in Government Task Force held a joint
workshop today at the Capitol to discuss agency reports, efficiencies, and cost savings for the
Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, Ga. Board of Physician Workforce, State Medical
Education Board and Department of Community Health (DCH). Senators Greg Goggans (R-Douglas)
and Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) co-chaired the meeting.
“Today we’re exploring every tax dollar spent on healthcare to provide Georgians with the most
essential programs,” said Sen. Goggans. “By working with state government agencies, we can
streamline efforts to provide effective and cost efficient healthcare for Georgians.”
Each agency presented an overview of programs, efficiencies and cost savings that have been
implemented. The current budgets were submitted and several agencies were asked to provide further
detailed information on particular programs or services. Members of the committee focused on
uncovering duplicated services and redundancies between agencies.
Some of the programs discussed today were Medicaid and the PeachCare program, all administered by
the Department of Community Health (DCH). Healthcare access for the underinsured and uninsured
was also examined.
Additional joint workshops are scheduled through mid-December. Topics for remaining meetings
include human development, education and fiscal management. The workshops are being held at the
request of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who has charged the Senate to proactively identify non-essential
government services and maximize efficiency and value in our state government.
Sen. Greg Goggans represents the 7th Senate District which includes Atkinson, Bacon,
Berrien, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, Pierce, and Ware counties and portions of Cook
County. He may be reached by phone at 404.463.5263 or by e-mail at
greg.goggans@senate.ga.gov.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh serves as Senate Majority Whip. He represents the 28th Senate District
which includes Coweta and Heard counties and portions of Carroll and Troup counties. He
may be reached by phone at 404.656.6446 or by e-mail at
mitch.seabaugh@senate.state.gov.