Tuesday, January 27, 2009

State hosts sites to track finances

Local News 1/26/2009

State hosts sites to track finances, health By JESS DAVIS
The Brunswick News

The state quietly launched two government Web sites earlier this month aimed at making more information accessible to Georgians.

www.Open.Georgia.Gov is aimed at making government spending more transparent. There, anyone can look up salary information for a state employee, see financial reports for state agencies and read performance reviews of state programs. Another category lists how various state organizations spent their money. www.GeorgiaHealthInfo.Gov offers tools to help residents compare health insurance plans, look up information about diseases and find local doctors.

At Open Georgia, for example, one could look at all the professional expenses made by what was then Coastal Georgia Community College in fiscal year 2008, look up the salary of a Glynn County administrator or read a review of what the state is doing to prevent losses from state insurance claims.

It bills itself as "a gateway for obtaining information and key documents about how the State of Georgia spends tax dollars and other revenues to provide services to Georgians."
It will be updated once a year, when new information is ready. The information is compiled from different state agencies.

At Georgia Health Info, a "Health Insurance 101" section offers a glossary of insurance terms that are often hard to understand and outlines the protections that are available to people who buy health insurance. It also includes ratings for various health plans offered in the state, including its own, PeachCare. A section on healthy living offers guides and information about pregnancy, quitting smoking and losing weight, among others.

The idea behind the site is that with more information, consumers will be able to find the best providers and services for them, in quality, price and location. A large part of the site explains different diseases and conditions, lists symptoms and offers treatment suggestions similar to the information that can be found at the popular site www.WebMD.com

Check it out:
* To research government spending, go to http://open.georgia.gov
* To research health information, go to http://georgiahealthinfo.gov

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