Georgia's Hospital Tax Voiced

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea.

Dozens of health care professionals lined up to tell state lawmakers that a proposed tax on hospitals and health insurance plans is not the cure for Georgia's ailing budget.

The governor says the tax increase, which would impose a 1.6 percent fee on revenues from the hospitals and insurers, is needed to avoid steep cuts to Medicaid. Republican legislators have been cool to the idea, which is being fought by many in the health care industry, who call the plan a "sick tax" and say it would stretch already-strapped hospitals and hurt one of the few industries hiring and keeping Georgians employed.

Many are throwing their support behind another proposal that would boost the tax on cigarettes. Georgia last upped its cigarette tax in 2003, when Perdue pushed through a 25-cent-per-pack increase, earning criticism from some conservative anti-tax groups.

Several in the crowd Wednesday said the tobacco tax makes sense, especially since tobacco-related illnesses in the state account for hundreds of millions in Medicaid expenses, and Georgia's cigarette tax is the fifth lowest in the country.