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HB 291: Community Health Worker Certification

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Darlene Taylor (173rd) | Status: Passed out of Senate HHS, but did not pass out of Senate Rules yesterday. HB 291 is unlikely to pass this session. | GHF Position: Support. This is a GHF priority!

What the bill does: HB 291 would establish a certification process for community health workers (CHWs) in Georgia. CHWs are frontline public health workers who help connect individuals to health care and essential services, particularly in underserved communities. They go by many titles, such as Patient Navigator, Community Health Advocate, and Promotora de Salud. By setting uniform standards and training for CHWs, creating a statewide certification system would support a skilled, stable CHW workforce.

HB 1192: State Agency Financial Accountability

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Taylor (R-173rd) | Status: Passed both the House and Senate; awaits the Governor’s signature | GHF Position: Monitor

What HB 1192 does: Requires the Department of Human Services and the Department of Community Health to keep funds designated for specific purposes in separate accounts and report annually to the legislature on cost savings and efficiency improvements.

Consumer impact: Greater transparency could help ensure that funds designated for specific health programs actually go toward those purposes.

HB 1238: Respite Care for Families of Youth with Behavioral Health Needs

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Dempsey (R-13th) | Status: Passed out of Senate HHS by substitute; passed out of Senate Rules. If passed by the Senate, the House must agree to the Senate’s changes to HB 1238. | GHF Position: Support

What HB 1238 does: Directs the state to seek federal approval for Medicaid to pay for respite care services for families caring for children under 21 with serious behavioral health conditions who are at risk of going into foster care.

Consumer impact: Families caring for children with significant behavioral health needs often reach a breaking point. Respite care gives families temporary relief while keeping kids in their homes and communities, rather than resorting to foster care or residential facilities. Respite care costs less than institutional placements and produces better outcomes for children.

HB 1262: Increasing Insurance Violation Penalties

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Lumsden (R-12th) | Status: Passed the House; Assigned to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee. | Note: HB 1262 was not heard by the Senate Insurance Committee, but the bill language was presented to a Senate Insurance subcommittee, along with many other insurance reform measures. While several other insurance reform measures were added to HB 1344 before it passed out of the Senate Insurance Committee, HB 1262 was not included in the amendments. The insurance fines in HB 1262 are unlikely to pass this session. | GHF Position: Support

What HB 1262 does: Raises the maximum penalties the Commissioner of Insurance can impose on insurance companies for violations of mental health parity reporting requirements, general insurance law, and the Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act. The bill increases the current per-violation standard from $2,000 to $10,000 and the knowing-violation standard from $5,000 to $25,000.

Consumer impact: Because all penalties remain discretionary, the bill’s real-world value depends entirely on whether Georgia’s Department of Insurance (DOI) chooses to use its expanded authority. DOI has expressed support for the bill, which suggests they want to hold insurers accountable when they violate the law.

HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Oversight

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Reeves (R-99th) | Status: Passed the House; Assigned to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee | GHF Position: Monitoring

What HB 1344 does: A wide-ranging insurance bill that strengthens DOI enforcement authority, insurance fraud penalties, and other areas specific to property, casualty, and auto insurance.

HB 1393: Certificate of Need Repeal and Rural Hospital Antitrust Immunity Act

Lead Sponsor: Rep. Werkheiser (R-157th) | Status: Passed out of the House; amended and approved by Senate HHS | GHF Position: No position

What HB 1393 does: The Senate HHS Committee’s substitute combines two major changes to HB 1393. First, it repeals Georgia’s certificate of need (CON) program for all health care facilities except skilled nursing facilities, meaning hospitals, surgery centers, imaging centers, and other facilities would no longer need state approval to open, expand, or relocate. Second, it allows rural hospital authorities in counties with populations under 50,000 to jointly negotiate prices with insurers and collaborate on services while claiming limited immunity from federal antitrust law. Unlike the original House version, the substitute requires Attorney General review before immunity takes effect, caps collaborations at three rural hospital authorities, bans non-compete clauses against physicians, and requires narrow legal interpretation.

Consumer impact: The CON repeal would not improve access to care in Georgia since the bill does not require new facilities to serve underserved communities or accept Medicaid. The revised antitrust provisions are meaningfully improved over the original bill, but still authorize joint price negotiations between hospitals that would otherwise compete, which economic research consistently links to higher costs for commercially insured consumers. Annual oversight by DCH and the Attorney General is required but lacks funding, metrics, or clear enforcement tools.

SB 195: Over-the-Counter Access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Hufstetler (52nd) | Status: Senate agreed to the House’s changes; awaits the Governor’s signature | GHF Position: Support

What SB 195 does: SB 195 would allow pharmacists in Georgia to dispense Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention without a prescription from a doctor. PrEP is a highly effective medication that reduces the risk of HIV transmission by up to 99% when taken as prescribed. However, barriers to accessing PrEP such as requiring a doctor’s prescription, lack of insurance, or stigma can prevent people at risk from getting preventive treatment. Expanding access through pharmacies allows individuals to obtain PrEP more quickly and conveniently, particularly in areas with limited health care providers. The bill establishes guidelines for pharmacists to provide PrEP under a statewide protocol, thereby increasing access to the medication.

SB 427: Pathway for Internationally Trained Physicians

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Watson (R-1st) | Status: Amended version passed the House; the Senate agreed to the House’s changes; the bill awaits the Governor’s signature. | GHF Position: Support

What SB 427 does: Creates a pathway for qualified physicians trained outside the U.S. to practice in Georgia. Eligible physicians would receive provisional licenses, would work under a fully licensed provider for a specific time period, and must work in underserved areas for 2-4 years to qualify for full licensure.

Consumer impact: Georgia faces significant physician shortages, especially in rural areas. SB 427 would help address workforce gaps by allowing qualified international physicians to practice while meeting supervision and practice requirements.

SB 428: Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services for Mental Health

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Kirkpatrick (R-32nd) | Status: Passed the House by substitute; the Senate agreed to the House’s changes; the bill awaits the Governor’s signature. | GHF Position: Support

What SB 428 does: Directs the state to seek federal approval by December 31, 2026, for a Medicaid waiver that would pay for home and community-based mental health services for adults over 21 who need ongoing support but don’t need institutional care. Eligibility would be based on risk factors like hospitalization history, psychiatric crises, emergency visits, prior incarceration, or homelessness.

Consumer impact: SB 428 would allow Medicaid to cover ongoing community-based support that helps people remain stable and avoid costly crisis situations.

SB 462: Protecting Consumers from Surprise Ambulance Bills

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Still (R-48th) and others | Status: Passed out of House Health; added to the House’s first Supplemental Rules Calendar on 03/31. If passed by the House, the Senate must agree to the House’s changes before the bill would go to the Governor’s desk. | GHF Position: Support

What SB 462 does: Extends Georgia’s surprise billing protections to emergency ground ambulance transportation. SB 462 would cap what patients pay for out-of-network ambulance rides at the same amount they’d pay for in-network rides, and prohibit ambulance companies from billing patients for the rest. The bill sets a minimum payment rate for ambulance companies at the locally negotiated rate, or, if none exists, at the lesser of 325% of Medicare rates or the billed charges.

Note: The House also added language from HB 1274, which addresses excess auto insurance profits, to SB 462.

Consumer impact: Georgians currently face unexpected ambulance bills ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, even with insurance. SB 462 would close that gap in Georgia’s surprise billing law.

SB 500: Health Care Workforce Database Expansion

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Hodges (R-3rd) | Status: Passed the House by substitute; the Senate agreed to the House’s changes; the bill awaits the Governor’s signature. | GHF Position: Under Review

What SB 500 does: Expands the existing Behavioral Health Care Workforce Database to cover all licensed health care professionals in Georgia and renames it the Health Care Workforce Database. The bill broadens the set of licensing boards required to participate in data collection without appropriating new funds or setting implementation deadlines.

SB 535: Community Service Board Governance Restructuring

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Kirkpatrick (R-32nd) and others | Status: Passed out of the House; awaits the Governor’s signature | GHF Position: Monitoring

What SB 535 does: Restructures governance of Georgia’s community service boards (CSBs) by transferring executive director appointment authority from local governing boards to the DBHDD Commissioner. Executive directors would become DBHDD employees. The Commissioner could direct executive directors to override governing board decisions when a CSB fails to meet performance standards. CSB conversions to nonprofit or other structures require Commissioner approval, and cessation of operations requires Governor approval.

Consumer impact: CSBs are the primary delivery system for community-based behavioral health and developmental disability services in Georgia. Centralizing executive director appointments under DBHDD could improve statewide accountability and help address underperforming CSBs, but the change removes local community input from leadership decisions. The bill does not define the “performance standards” that would trigger a state override of local governing board authority, leaving significant discretion to DBHDD. Consumers and families who participate in CSB governance would see their influence reduced under the new structure.