“I think it’s a good thing and am pleased that he [Perdue] chose Putnam County to sign the bill,” Reid said. “I think that this will serve the medical community well and can only benefit the city of Eatonton and Putnam County.”

Though it may be difficult to understand all the legal terms and provisions associated with the bill, Earl Rogers, senior vice president of the Georgia Hospital Association, believes that even those who do not fully understand the impact of House Bill No. 1234 will eventually be able to see the benefits it will provide.

“I think it’s a terrific piece of legislation. Rep. Channel spent untold hours to provide a product that will bring about change in Medicaid. With this legislation Medicaid patients, the work these hospitals do for Medicaid patients, they will be reimbursed properly. Before this bill they weren’t being reimbursed. As the governor called it, it ‘rebalances’ the system,” Rogers said.

Though the test of time will be the final judge on the full effects of this particular piece of legislation, if the confidence shown in the words of Perdue are any indication, those effects won’t take long to appear.

“We have come a long way, and this is still an evolutionary process for getting it right. That is our goal for health care. We want to ensure that our CMOs and our health care providers work together as smoothly as possible without one having leverage over the other that is not working. That means Georgia patients across the state are getting the best possible health care and the best possible pricing for Georgia taxpayers,” Perdue said.