Political drama involving a rural Georgia county reflects how state regulations that govern when and where hospitals can be built or expanded are evolving.

“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.

A Georgia Senate committee is recommending that the state abolish its requirement for permits to build health facilities. The Tuesday report sets up a renewed push on the issue that sparked a House-Senate standoff in the 2023 legislative session.

The hospital's absence continues to affect the community on the anniversary of its closure.

An Atlanta-area hospital system has completed its takeover of Augusta University's hospitals. Both the University System of Georgia and Marietta-based Wellstar Health system say the deal will mean greater financial stability, more medical training and better care.

Wellstar Health System officials came under fire Monday for committing to invest nearly $800 million late last year in a planned partnership with Augusta University Health System (AUHS) after closing two Atlanta-area hospitals.

Mayor Andre Dickens signed an executive order on Monday extending the ban on new development at the Atlanta Medical Center site in Old Fourth Ward.

Georgia officials have approved the takeover of the Augusta University hospitals associated with the state's only public medical school. The state Board of Regents on Friday approved agreements to transfer control of the hospitals to Marietta-based Wellstar Health System.

On the Thursday, March 8 edition of Georgia Today: Georgia lawmakers and the NAACP are asking for a federal investigation into Wellstar Health System after the closing of two Atlanta-area hospitals; Gov. Brian Kemp is highlighting the need for more workforce housing across the state; and details on the professional volleyball team coming to Atlanta.

Democratic Georgia lawmakers, local officials and the NAACP are asking federal officials to investigate a health care system that closed hospitals in downtown Atlanta and a southern suburb. They claim Wellstar Health System has illegally discriminated against Black people and violated its tax-exempt status.

Georgia senators voted to allow new hospitals to be built in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents without state permission. The measure is particularly aimed at allowing an undisclosed entity to build a new hospital in the home county of Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.