Georgia's public health facilities developed only after the turn of the century. The Ellis Health Law of 1914 placed the responsibility for public health with the counties, but by 1936 only 36 of the state's 159 counties had full-time health departments. Not until after federal funds became available during the 1940s was malaria, one of the oldest afflictions in Georgia, brought under control through the eradication of mosquito breeding places. Federal funds also enabled every county to receive public health nursing services and X-ray clinics.
Georgia's birthrate declined to a record low of 15.9 per 1,000 population in 1976; the 2000 birthrate was 16.5. Fetal abortions have increased dramatically since 1973, when abortion laws were changed. There were 33,095 legal abortions performed in Georgia in 1999, for a rate of 18 per 1,000 women. Georgia's infant mortality rate in 2000 was 8.5 per 1,000 live births. Heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease were leading causes of death. Of the population age 18 and older, 23.6% were classified as smokers in 2000. In the same year, the HIV-related death rate was 9.4 per 100,000 population. AIDS cases numbering 24,559 had been reported through 2001.
In 1998, there were 147 community hospitals in Georgia, which had a total of 903,663 admissions. The number of hospital beds increased from 9,673 in 1950 to 24,113 beds in 2001. Georgia had 28,326 full-time registered nurses and 4,502 full-time licensed practical nurses in 2001 and 225 physicians per 100,000 population in 2001. The average expense of community hospitals for care in 2001 was $1,173.7 per inpatient day.
Federal government grants to cover the Medicare and Medicaid services in 2001 totaled $3.2 billion; 932,965 enrollees received Medicare benefits that year. At least 16.6% of Georgia's adult population was uninsured in 2002.
The Medical College of Georgia, established at Augusta in 1828, is one of the oldest medical schools in the US and the center of medical research in the state. The Federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were established in Atlanta in 1973.