Piedmont Healthcare, an 11-hospital system based in Atlanta, has quit the Georgia Hospital Association, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though the publication said Piedmont's split from the group could weaken the Georgia Hospital Association's influence, the lobbying group said that is not the expected outcome because the two have a unified message.
"Piedmont has been at the table and even had membership on our board of directors and been fully aligned with the vast majority of the perspectives of the industry," Ethan James, executive vice president of the Georgia Hospital Association, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Piedmont, which has its own lobbyists, said the dues to the hospital association were too high. Big health systems, such as Piedmont, usually pay higher dues than smaller systems or standalone hospitals, according to the report.
The loss of Piedmont's dues will not have a major impact on the hospital association's finances, GHA President and CEO Earl Rogers wrote in a letter to the Albany Herald.
"The fact is, GHA's member dues account for just over one-quarter of our total revenue. GHA is well-positioned to continue providing crucial services our hospital members have come to expect, including advocacy, insurance and legal information, data analysis, clinical education, and community board training, especially to our small, rural hospitals," Mr. Rogers wrote.
Access the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article here.
Access Mr. Rogers' letter to the Albany Herald here.
More articles on leadership and management:
U of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO: 'Everything in healthcare doesn't need to be done by a hospital CEO'
5 trends for hospitals to watch in 2020
What 30 hospital CEOs told Becker's in 2019