New Bill to Protect Free Preventive Care (SB 262) Introduced
Last week, Senator Halpern introduced Senate Bill 262 with the support of six Republican co-sponsors! This bill is crucial to ensure that Georgians can continue accessing life-saving preventive health services without facing financial barriers.
Why This Matters
Since 2010, most health plans have been required to cover critical preventive services— such as cancer screenings, routine wellness visits, and mental health screenings—at no cost to patients. However, this vital benefit is under serious threat.
This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Kennedy v. Braidwood, a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the free preventive services requirement. Nearly 5 million Georgians could lose guaranteed access to no-cost preventive care if the Court strikes down these protections.
How SB 262 Helps
SB 262 is a state-based solution designed to protect access to preventive services without financial barriers like copays and deductibles. If passed, this bill will ensure that many Georgians can continue to receive:
Cancer screenings (e.g., breast and colorectal screenings)
Medications that reduce disease risk (e.g., aspirin for heart disease prevention, statins for cholesterol management)
Heart disease and diabetes screenings
Mental health and substance use disorder screenings
Preventive care helps keep Georgians healthy by catching diseases early, improving health outcomes, and reducing long-term health care costs. Without these protections, many Georgians may delay or skip critical services, leading to worse health outcomes and financial hardship.
What’s Next?
SB 262 is unlikely to receive a vote before Crossover Day, which means it may not advance further this session. However, protecting access to no-cost preventive services remains a critical priority for Georgia families, workers, and businesses. Lawmakers must keep pushing to secure these services and ensure Georgians can access life-saving screenings and care without financial barriers. GHF will continue to keep you updated on any new developments and opportunities to take action.
HB 291 Clears Committee, Awaits Full House Vote
The Community Health Worker (CHW) certification bill (HB 291) passed out of the House Public and Community Health Committee last Tuesday, February 25. The next step is for the House Rules committee to schedule the bill for a vote in the full House. The full House vote must occur before or on Crossover Day for HB 291 to stay alive this session. We’ll keep you updated as soon as a vote is scheduled.
GHF strongly supports this bill because it strengthens Georgia’s CHW workforce and improves access to care, particularly in underserved communities. We will continue monitoring its progress and any further changes.
Crossover Day is Almost Here!
Crossover Day—one of the most critical deadlines of the legislative session—is this Thursday, March 6th. After this date, bills that haven’t passed at least one chamber (House or Senate) are unlikely to move forward this year.
Expect a rush of activity at the Capitol as lawmakers push to pass their priority bills. GHF will track key health legislation and keep you updated on what survives Crossover Day and what it means for health care in Georgia. Keep an eye on GHF’s Instagram account (@healthyfuturega) for action alerts this week.
Keep reading for more bill updates and a breakdown of the Senate’s version of the amended fiscal year budget.
Senate Amends AFY 2025 Budget – What’s Different?
This week, the Senate passed its version of HB 67, the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2025 budget, sending it back to the House for final negotiations. This budget adjusts current state funding through June 30, 2025.
The Senate made several key changes to the House’s version of the budget, differing from both the House proposal and the Governor’s initial recommendations. Key Senate changes to the AY25 budget include:
Halving the amount the House put in the budget for a pilot program to use AI to detect fraud in Georgia’s Medicaid program (House: $685K, Senate: $342K)
Cutting the House funding for critical access and rural hospitals for Hurricane Helene relief by $20M ((House: $35.64M, Senate: $15.63M)
Eliminating the money the House added for equipment for local health departments (House: $500K, Senate: $0)
Adding $250k for school-based health centers (House: $0, Senate $250k)
This is especially problematic because Georgia is among the slowest states for processing Medicaid applications at this time. Paying eligibility workers more could help keep more experienced workers from leaving
Reducing the current state budget funds for additional eligibility caseworkers and supervisors previously added to support the Medicaid renewals and redeterminations during the Medicaid Unwinding (2023-2024) (House: $0, Senate: -11.1M)
Removing the House and Governor’s allocation to integrate Pathways and Georgia Access applications into the state’s central eligibility system (the Georgia Gateway Integrated Eligibility System) (House: $1.47M, Senate: $0)
Cutting an additional $5.27M from Georgia’s reinsurance funds (House: -$5.58M, Senate: -$10.84M)
The next step is for the House and Senate to negotiate a final version before sending it to the Governor’s desk. We’ll share a full breakdown of the final budget and what it means for Georgia’s health care system once it’s finalized. Stay tuned!
Legislation on Our Radar
SENATE BILLS
SB 233 – Updates to the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission (BHRIC)
Lead sponsor: Sen. Brass (6th)
Status: Approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and awaits a full Senate vote
GHF position: Support
Summary: SB 233 makes several updates to the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission (BHRIC), including expanding its membership, restructuring its subcommittees, and extending its existence by 18 months. The commission is responsible for evaluating and recommending improvements to Georgia’s behavioral health system. Key changes to the committee include adding to the Commission’s membership a certified addiction recovery specialist with lived experience, a provider specializing in intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), a parent of an individual with IDD or an individual with IDD, an individual who has lost an immediate family member to drug overdose or fentanyl poisoning, a leader of an IDD advocacy organization, and an executive director of a Georgia nonprofit focused on addiction and recovery. The bill also removes the Involuntary Commitment and Workforce & System Development committees and replaces them with the Addictive Diseases and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities committees, respectively.
Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee
GHF position: Support
Summary: SB 262 would require health insurance plans in Georgia to continue to cover preventive healthcare services without cost-sharing, ensuring that individuals can access screenings, immunizations, and other preventive care without paying out-of-pocket costs. The bill aims to protect access to preventive care regardless of changes to federal requirements.
HOUSE BILLS
HB 81: Interstate Compact for School Psychologists
HB 612 – Mental Health Parity Compliance and Enforcement
Lead Sponsor: Rep. Dempsey (District 13)
Status: Passed out of the House Health Committee and awaits a full House vote
GHF position: Support with modifications
Summary: Adds the Insurance Commissioner to the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council (BHCC). The BHCC is a multi-agency advisory group operated by the state that focuses on improving the state’s behavioral health system. Adding the Insurance Commissioner to the group could help strengthen oversight and enforcement of Georgia’s mental health parity laws. The BHCC must also develop educational materials for consumers and providers about mental health parity rights. The bill also establishes a parity compliance review panel under the BHCC, to which health care providers are legally required to report suspected mental health parity violations.
Status: Introduced in the House and referred to the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee
GHF position: Support
Summary: HB 689 creates a statewide homelessness prevention program under the Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless. The program is designed to prevent evictions, support housing stability for low-income individuals, and reduce homelessness. It establishes an application process, minimum program standards, and a funding structure for organizations that provide rental assistance, eviction diversion services, and other homelessness prevention efforts.
Advocate With Us At The Capitol!
Join These Advocacy Events During the Legislative Session
Each week during the legislative session, we’ll highlight legislative advocacy days hosted by our partner organizations. These events offer excellent opportunities for you to engage in the lawmaking process by meeting your legislators and advocating for critical health issues.
Please contact Anthony Hill at ahill@healthyfuturega.org if you have an advocacy event you’d like included in GHF’s legislative update
We hope to see you at one or more of these impactful events!
GHF Has You Covered!
Stay up-to-date with the legislative session
GHF monitors legislative activity on a number of critical consumer health care topics. Along with our weekly legislative updates and timely analysis of bills, here are tools to help you stay in touch with health policy under the Gold Dome.
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