How much does the GA Department of Community Health make in fees? See 2023’s totals

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Ian Britton via FreeFoto.com.

There seems to be a fee for just about everything, from a verification fee to a convenience fee and more. And it’s not all pocket change. So, when you pay a fee, where does the money go? Well, let’s take for example, the Georgia Department of Community Health.

What does the department do?

The Georgia Department of Community Health is responsible for non-clinical (social and environmental) approaches to health at the city and neighborhood level.

The department charges fees for things like: 

• Dentist applications, certificates, exams and licenses
• Pharmacist applications and certifications
• Healthcare license fees for surgical centers, birthing centers, clinical laboratories and hospice centers

Now, let’s take a look at how much the department makes in fees:

How much money did the Georgia Department of Community Health make off fees in 2023?

The total dollar amount collected in fees by the department in 2023 was more than $13 million ($13,005,722).

So, how much of that did they keep? 

Well, most of the fees are given back to the agency that they are associated with; for example, if fees were collected for the Georgia Board of Dentistry, the funds are returned back to the program.

The total amount kept by the department in 2023 was around $60,000 ($60,150).

Where does all the money go?

Typically, the money made from fees will funnel back into operations like employee pay, equipment, supplies or other day-to-day materials.

However, the department did not report how much money from fees went towards daily operations.

What about in 2022?

In 2022, the Department of Community Health brought in more than $10 million in fees ($10,784,326), but only kept $21,290 of that.

Again, the department did not report how much of the money went towards operations.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with the Macon Telegraph.