Please plan to join Georgia Watch for our Annual Consumer Champion Award Celebration on October 1, 2015.  Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Liz Coyle at 404-525-1085 or lcoyle@georgiawatch.org for more information.

Last Week, the Health Access Program at Georgia Watch released a report on Georgia nonprofit hospital compliance with new federal regulations that mandate thoughtful community benefit planning and increased transparency. Nonprofit hospitals classified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations have long been obligated to provide community benefits as a condition of their tax-exempt status, but little regulation existed to ensure benefit spending was aligned with community health needs. After analyzing and comparing Georgia nonprofit hospital CHNAs and Implementation Strategies, Georgia Watch identified several steps hospitals should take to improve future CHNA processes and better target benefit spending to communities' most critical needs. 

In partnership with the IRS VITA Program, Seedco, United Way of Greater Atlanta, and The Center for Working Families, Georgia Watch convened IRS VITA tax preparers and healthcare navigators from the Metro-Atlanta region to discuss implementation of the 2400 pages of new tax code associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Navigators and tax preparers received a high volume of questions regarding consumer tax compliance with the ACA during tax-filing season and open enrollment. The session provided an opportunity for these two important professions to share expertise, best practices and strategize on how to serve the needs of consumers in Georgia.

During April, Financial Literacy Month, Georgia Watch organized 20+ workshops across DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton and Clayton Counties to empower consumers and professionals around personal finance, identity protection, fraud prevention, energy efficiency and more. Interested in one of our community workshops? Email Elise at eblasingame@georgiawatch.org. Thank you again to our partners, Money Smart Week Atlanta, CEU Concepts, Charles Schwab, State Bank & Trust Co., ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions, Cobb County Library System, DeKalb County Library System, Atlanta State Metropolitan College, Refugee Women's Network and our wonderful volunteers.

Georgia Watch is looking for volunteers who can donate their valuable time to assist us with administrative work, database management, and to join our Speaker's Bureau. If you are interested in joining our team as a volunteer, please fill out our online form.