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Legislative Update: The First Two Weeks

Legislation introduced to protect consumers from surprise medical bills!
This morning, Sen. Renee Unterman and Rep. Richard Smith each introduced legislation to protect consumers from surprise out-of-network medical bills. A surprise medical bill can occur when an insured consumer unknowingly receives care from an out-of-network provider at an in-network health care facility. The consumer is then responsible for the excess medical costs which can add up quickly. The bills introduced today would help to protect consumers from these large, unexpected bills.You can help!

  • Contact Sen. Unterman and Rep. Smith to thank them for their attention to this important consumer issue.
  • If you have received a surprise out-of-network medical bill, share your story with our partners at Georgia Watch. Consumer stories help illustrate why legislation is needed to protect Georgia consumers like you.

 

 

 
FY 2018 Budget 
One of the legislature’s major responsibilities is to pass a state budget each year. Governor Deal proposed a $25 billion state budget in his State of the State address for Fiscal Year 2018, and last week the legislature held budget hearings to gather input from state agencies about their proposed departmental budgets. Three state agencies have jurisdiction over health and health care: the Department of Community Health (DCH), which oversees Medicaid, PeachCare, and other state health care programs; the Department of Public Health (DPH), which administers public health and prevention initiatives and programs in Georgia; and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), which provides treatment, support services, and assistance to people with disabilities, behavioral health challenges, and substance use disorders. Because of the critical role that Medicaid plays in covering low-income children and other vulnerable Georgians, it is important that it be adequately funded. Issues to watch this legislative session around Medicaid and the state budget include the renewal of the “hospital tax” or provider fee, increases in Medicaid reimbursement rates for certain primary care providers, and funding for autism services for children under 21. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Budget Primer is a great tool for learning more about how the state budget works and what to look out for during the session. You can also find power points and archived agenda from last week’s budget hearings here as well as the budget “tracking sheet” here.
Proposed Legislation
 

Oral Health–SB 12 
This bill would provide for “general supervision” of dental hygienists in Georgia, meaning that with quimby & collins in Charlotte dentist’s permission dental hygienists could provide cleaning services to patients when a dentist is not present. The purpose of this legislation is to expand access to oral hygiene services in safety net settings like school based health centers, long term care facilities, and charity clinics. Read more about this legislation here.

Expansion of the rural hospital tax credits–HB 54 
Introduced by Rep. Duncan, this legislation would expand the new rural hospital tax credit program from a 70% credit to a 90% credit, among other minor changes. The tax credit program went into effect this year, after enabling legislation was passed in 2016.

Expected legislation 
It is early in the legislation session, so many health-related bills are still in the works. We expect to see legislation arise from two study committees that met this fall. The Senate Study Committee on Opioid Abuse is expected to result in legislation that strengthens the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and permanently allows naloxone to be sold over the counter, among other strategies to curb the opioid abuse crisis. Some legislation or action is expected from the House Study Committee on Children’s Mental Health as well. That may include the creation of a Children’s Mental Health Reform Council, similar to the Governor’s successful Criminal Justice Reform Council. Finally, we have heard serious discussions about raising Georgia’s tobacco tax. No legislation has yet emerged but we do expect to see a bill introduced in the coming weeks.

If legislation is introduced addressing any of these issues or other health care-related topics, we will include updates in our weekly emails throughout the legislation session. You can also track health care-related legislation on our website any day of the week.
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