Governor Perdue Presents Budget for State of the Future

With the state on a firm foundation, Governor Sonny Perdue today delivered his annual State of the State Address before a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly. The Governor formally submitted his Amended FY07 and FY08 budget recommendations, which are focused on education, land conservation, economic development, tax relief for seniors and health care.
“We have made great progress,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We have laid the foundation and have begun moving Georgia from a good state to a great state, a state of the future.”

Healthcare
Governor Perdue’s budget also works toward increased healthcare transparency and a focus on rural health care. The Governor introduced the Rural Health Access Project to promote health care as a strategic industry in rural Georgia. The Rural Health Access Project will “increase access to primary care, create stable networks and use technology to lower costs and improve outcomes.”

The Governor’s budget recognizes the enormous toll that traffic accidents and trauma care exact on Georgia and its citizens. Traffic accidents not only cost billions of dollars every year, but also the lives of over 1,700 people just in Georgia.

“Car accidents cause more trauma than any other source,” said Governor Perdue. “And drivers who travel recklessly at high speeds will be held accountable in Georgia. We will make those drivers pay for a statewide trauma network. This will allow us to not only improve Georgia’s trauma care system, but also to reduce the actions that cause pain for so many Georgia families.”

Medical access continues to be a concern for many Georgians and the cost of state-provided coverage is a growing component of the state budget. The Governor’s budget includes
$176 million to fund health insurance costs for state employees and includes $100 million to begin to meet the costs of Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) as required by new national accounting standards.

The budget also keeps Georgia healthy by:
Continuing to partner with the federal government on programs such as Medicaid and PeachCare; Providing $1 million to implement the Health Information Technology pilot program; Committing $1.5 million to increase access to primary health care facilities throughout the state; Funding $4.8 million to develop a real time information system to improve cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment; making Georgia a national leader in cancer information technology; Funding almost $16 million to fully fund the purchase of antiviral medications to treat a pandemic flu; Funding $9 million to provide additional funds for the operating expenses of state hospitals.