Atlanta, Ga. – Many metro Atlanta hospitals aren’t doing enough to improve health care accessibility for the low-income and uninsured, according to a report released this week by Georgia Watch. In addition, only half of the 34 hospitals in the 21-county Atlanta area fail to post legally-required signage about available financial aid programs. Read More

By Angela Speir Phelps

We hear a lot of talk about ethics in government – particularly the need for more. Candidates for public office often talk about the need for ethics reform and those elected talk about their staunch support for strengthening ethics in government. But talk is cheap. Where the rubber meets the road is how one acts, how they conduct the people’s business, and how they vote when presented with the opportunity to stand up for what’s right. A message from a podium is nothing more than an empty promise if forgotten once elected. Read more

By Angela Speir Phelps and Danny Orrock

There’s been a lot of chatter about the Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision to overturn caps on damages for victims of medical malpractice. It’s understandable this would generate interest, since it affects our most basic rights as citizens.

In 2005, Senate Bill 3 was heralded as a fix for many of the ills facing the health care industry. Read more

On March 22 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a controversial law capping the amount of money an injured patient could recover from a negligent medical provider is unconstitutional. The 7-0 decision was written by Justice Hunstein. Senate Bill 3, enacted in 2005, stated that a victim of medical malpractice could be limited in the amount of damages they can receive from a jury verdict, even if the harm caused was catastrophic in nature. Read more

Georgia Watch will expand its Hospital Accountability Project to help broaden accessibility to affordable, quality health care for uninsured, underinsured and low-income Georgians by addressing socioeconomic obstacles, hospital policies, community benefits and regulations throughout the state. Read more

March 10, 2010 – Georgia Watch released a detailed financial analysis of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, a regional safety net hospital that serve low-income, uninsured, underinsured and other vulnerable populations in Gainesville and its surrounding region. This section of the state, serviced primarily by Northeast Georgia Medical Center, has an uninsured rate that is higher than the state average; many area health consumers face significant barriers in affording care. Read more

A new report, released by Georgia Watch and Consumer Federation of America, finds that Georgia families will continue to spend an extra $450 per year on their energy bills if strong energy efficiency policies are not incorporated into the climate and energy legislation before Congress. The report shows that robust state and federal energy efficiency policies could dramatically reduce energy consumption and save Georgians money on their energy bills every year. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mortgage Bankers Association released their 2009 4Q mortgage loan delinquency rates last week. The report finds that of Georgia’s 1,654,728 mortgage holders, 17.1 percent are delinquent or in foreclosure. Additionally, 41.38 percent of the state’s mortgage holders with subprime loans were delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of 2009, as compared to 11.68 percent of those with prime loans. Read the rest of this entry »

By David Markiewicz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 21, 2010
The state Public Service Commission is scheduled to hold public hearings Monday and Tuesday in Georgia Power’s fuel cost recovery case.
If the utility gets what it’s asking — $3.9 billion to cover its cost of coal, natural gas and nuclear fuel for the next 14 months, plus $683 million in under-recovered past costs — the typical residential customer will pay nearly $7 more each month on his electric bill.more

The Road to Reform, the second installment of a two-part series on Georgia’s current foreclosure crisis. As a follow-up to The Rippling Effects of Foreclosure released in January 2010, the report details previously enacted reforms in our state; amended fair lending acts in New York and North Carolina; and Senate Bill 57, pending legislation that would implement common-sense underwriting standards in Georgia and combat hazardous lending. Read the rest of this entry »

Georgia Watch has written a formal letter of concern to Joseph B. Doyle, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (GOCA). Georgia Watch believes that, as GOCA’s Administrator, it is in Mr. Doyle’s power to intervene in utility rate cases and other critical cases heard before the Public Service Commission (PSC) that impact consumers’ wallets. He has made no such intervention to date and, as a result, the interests of the average Georgia consumer have gone unrepresented. Read the rest of this entry »

Georgia Watch has released part one of a two part report on the foreclosure crisis currently devastating the state’s housing market and straining its overall economy. Called Georgia Foreclosure Crisis Part One: The Rippling Effects of Reckless Lending, the report examines reasons for the state’s ranking as seventh in the nation for foreclosures and projections indicating this crisis is far from over. Read the rest of this entry »

Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon) was named a “Friend of the Consumer” by Georgia Watch for battling the interests of big business and speaking up for the average Georgian. Sen. Brown worked in opposition of Senate Bill 31, an accelerated rate increase imposed by Georgia Power that will raise monthly power bills for residential customers in order to finance the expansion at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant near Augusta. Read the rest of this entry »

Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) was named “Legislator of the Year” today by Georgia Watch for battling the interests of big business and speaking up for the average Georgian. Sen. Williams worked closely with Georgia Watch to assure pro-consumer provisions were implemented into Senate Bill 31, the financing plan from Georgia Power that will raise monthly power bills for residential customers to expand Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant near Augusta. Read the rest of this entry »

Georgia Watch hosted a rally with clergy leaders from across the Metro area on Friday December 4th. Thanks to all those who came out to help advocate for the end of inappropriate home loan lending. High-interest loans with careless and abusive provisions are the major cause of the current housing crisis. Irresponsible lending needs to end with common sense reform and Georgia families need to stay in their homes! Read the rest of this entry »

First American CoreLogic released its 3Q findings on properties with negative equity. 23 percent of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity in September 2009. Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater”, means that a borrower owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of both.

Of Georgia’s 1,573,628 mortgages, 376,954 are “underwater”. And an additional 130,616 mortgages are just 5% away from being “underwater”. Learn more…

Georgia Watch released a report detailing the plight of the uninsured and underinsured when seeking affordable health care in the state. Titled The Cost of Care in Georgia, the report examines overcharging of uninsured patients at nonprofit hospitals, along with the economic repercussions of medical debt and how it directly causes foreclosure and financial ruin. In terms of potential solutions to the issue of affordability, the report evaluates programs across the state that treat the uninsured for less… Read the rest of this entry »

By Georgia Watch Deputy Director Danny Orrock
The flooded streets and damaged homes resulting from this week’s storms should serve as a wake-up call to Georgia.

Development often alters hydrology and may bring new areas into the flood plain — areas previously considered dry. At any given moment the flood plain maps for our communities may become obsolete due to new construction. Read the rest of this entry »

Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 22, 2009
Georgia, which has been rocked by a high rate of foreclosures in recent years, was given a “D” in housing and home ownership in the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s (CFED) 2009-2010 Assets & Opportunities Scorecard published Tuesday.

The bi-annual assessment of the financial security of households and individuals said Georgia must take several steps to improve financial security, including protecting the real estate market from predatory mortgage lending…more

A coalition of organizations, including Georgia Watch, begins an initiative fighting back against one of the fasting growing crimes in the nation. Atlanta Victim Assistance, Inc. leads the campaign dubbed Project SAFE, to raise public awareness about identity theft.. Read the rest of this entry »

New report details escalating number of homeowners with negative home equityA report released mid-August by First American CoreLogic detailed more trouble ahead for Georgia homeowners and the state’s unsteady housing market. The numbers released by CoreLogic reiterate the necessity for mortgage reform in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

By John Bailey for the Rome News-Tribune, July 24, 2009
The financial practices of Georgia not-for-profit hospitals, including Floyd Medical Center, are creating a barrier to affordable health care, a consumer advocacy group concludes. The Hospital Accountability Project by Georgia Watch focuses primarily on the affordability of health care for self-pay, underinsured and uninsured patients… Read the rest of this entry »

One in eight home loans is past due and on the verge of foreclosure in Georgia. While the subprime market represents just 13 percent of all outstanding loans in Georgia, subprime foreclosures accounted for 40 percent of the total number of Georgia foreclosures in the first quarter of 2009.
As foreclosure signs, boarded up windows and overgrown lawns become increasing prevalent, some of our best experts and leaders prefer to sit idly by and debate statistics.
…more

Georgia Power customers will soon see an increase in their monthly bills. SB 31 – known as the Georgia Power tax – will force Georgians to prepay $1.6 billion for the financing of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Augusta – company shareholders will pocket $1 billion of that prepayment.

We’ll see an increase in monthly power bills as early as 2011 even though the reactors will not produce a sinlge a kilowatt of energy until, at least, 2017… Read the rest of this entry »

This video from NY Times photographer Nicole Bengiveno illustrates the process of foreclosure and the effects it has on residents, business men, and the community as a whole. To view the video click here.

Dennis Creech and Natalie Allen were carefully selected based on their expertise in energy efficiency, energy policy and cutting-edge efficiency technology. Creech and Allen will provide guidance for Georgia Watch’s Consumer Energy Program, which is led by former Public Service Commissioner and Georgia Watch Deputy Director Angela Speir… Read the rest of this entry »

Common Cause is a nationwide, independent, non-partisan organization “for those Americans who want to help in the rebuilding of the nation.” Common Cause works to promote legislation and policy that serves public interest, not special interest. Angela was honored this year for her outstanding dedication to political fairness, transparency and accountability. Read more about Angela here.