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Legislative session is more than half-way complete

The state legislative session is more than half-way over already and the General Assembly has been working diligently to complete its constitutional responsibility to pass a state budget. Thus far the House and Senate have passed their versions of the amended FY2018 budget and are working to come to consensus on a final version. The House is still considering the FY2019 budget. Other bills prioritized by legislative leaders have made their way through the legislative process and await the Governor’s signature.

Action under the Gold Dome

GHF supports legislation that provides important consumer protections within private insurance

The first half of the legislative session has been punctuated by the introduction of many bills that would impact health care and coverage for Georgia consumers. Several of these bills stand out as they align with GHF’s policy priority of facilitating greater access to care and ensuring financial protections for consumers purchasing private insurance. For these reasons, GHF is actively supporting the following bills:

• SB 359–legislation to address surprise out-of-medical billing through improved disclosure, clarification of responsibilities in out-of-network emergency situations, and the opportunity for mediation when a consumer receives a surprise bill. (For more, see our February 5th legislative update.)
• HB 872–would allow consumers to receive services from their preferred provider at an in-network rate for the entire coverage year, if the insurer advertises the provider as being in-network at the time a consumer enrolls in a health insurance plan
• HB 873–would simplify the prior authorization process for providers and patients seeking access to restricted or expensive health services or medications and would clarify and improve the information that insurers must provide to consumers about their prescription drug coverage (Re-visit last week’s legislative update for more information about HB 872 and 873.)

Rural health care bill moves forward

One of the legislature’s biggest efforts in 2017 was the work of the House Rural Development Council which, among other things, studied barriers to health care and possible solutions in Georgia’s rural communities. The result of their studies is HB 769 which creates a Rural Center for Health Care Innovation and Sustainability within the existing State Office of Rural Health. The Center would be responsible for collecting data from the health-focused state agencies and analyzing it for planning purposes, similar to the Health System Innovation Center proposed within SB 357.  The bill would also make some changes to the state’s certificate of need program to make allowances for “micro-hospitals”, provides for an insurance premium assistance program for rural physicians, and increases the rural hospital tax credit to 100% of the donation.

The House Health and Human Services Committee approved HB 769 last week and it must be advanced by the House Rules Committee for consideration by the full chamber.

Surprise billing legislation gets more attention

All three bills introduced to address surprise out of network medical billing will receive the attention of the General Assembly this session. HB 678 was passed by the House last Monday and has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services (HHS) Committee for its consideration. That committee plans to take up another piece of surprise billing legislation–SB 359, which provides the most comprehensive protections to consumers of the three bills–in its hearing today. HB 799, a bill that primarily addresses out of network care in emergency situations, is similarly scheduled for a hearing today by the House Insurance Committee.

Stay up-to-date with the legislative session

As the activity in the General Assembly picks up speed in the second half of this year’s session, it can be hard to keep up. We have the tools you need to stay in touch with health policy under the Gold Dome.

• Updated for 2018: GHF’s annual Consumer Health Advocate’s Guide
• Sign up for the Georgia Health Action Network (GHAN) emails–action alerts that let you know when there are opportunities for advocacy and action
• Track health-related legislation
• Follow GHF on Twitter and Facebook at @healthyfuturega