This Week’s Legislative Action
The House and Senate met Monday – Thursday this week with packed schedules in advance of next Monday. Committee and floor votes picked up precipitously in order to advance legislation with a key legislative deadline fast approaching. By the end of the day next Monday (3/6), bills that have an opportunity to ‘survive’ for the remainder of the session on their own must be passed by their originating chamber. Bills that do not cross the threshold in time will be ineligible to move forward this year as standalone legislation.
Before a bill can be considered on the floor of either chamber for a vote, the House and Senate Rules committees must sign off on adding the bill to the floor calendar. The House Rules committee will meet Monday morning to set its first calendar, and it is typical for the committee to meet once or twice more during the day to set supplemental calendars for consideration. The Senate Rules committee, however, has already established the calendar of bills for Monday and eligible bills listed below will not be expanded pursuant to the rules of the Senate. Below is a non-exhaustive list of bills on Monday’s Senate schedule, but it includes all of the bills that may be of interest to NGHS.
SENATE CROSSOVER DAY RULES CALENDAR:
| Bill | Description | Sponsor |
| SB 20 | “Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act” | Sen. Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta) |
| SB 45 | Requirements related to students in K-12 schools who are being treated for epilepsy | Sen. Anavitarte (R-Dallas) |
| SB 106 | Remote maternal health clinical services | Sen. Walker (R-Perry) |
| SB 111 | “Anesthesiologist Assistant Act,” which would require the Composite Medical Board to appoint an AA in an advisory capacity | Sen. Hufstetler (R-Rome) |
| SB 140 | Prohibition of gender reassignment of minors in hospitals and other licensed institutions | Sen. Summers (R-Cordele) |
| SB 164 | Provides for licensure of APRNs | Sen. Hufstetler (R-Rome) |
| SB 197 | “Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act” | Sen. Hufstetler (R-Rome) |
| SB 223 | Requirements related to insurance reimbursement for costs associated with clinical trials | Sen. Watson (R-Savannah) |
| SB 246 | Provides for student loan repayment for certain nursing faculty | Sen. Hodges (R-Brunswick) |
NEW BILLS INTRODUCED THIS WEEK
HB 565, introduced by Representative Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen), was assigned to House Public Health Committee. HB 565 would increase temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) to change the lifetime maximum for benefits from 48 months to 60 months.
HB 576, introduced by Representative Joseph Gullett (R-Dallas), was assigned to House Health Committee. HB 576 would prohibit certain health care providers and facilities from discriminating against potential organ transplant recipients due solely to the vaccine status of the potential recipient.
HB 578, introduced by Representative David Wilkerson (D-Powder Springs), was assigned to House Education Committee. HB 578 would require the development and distribution of an educational fact sheet that provides information concerning the use and misuse of opioid drugs in the event that a student athlete is prescribed an opioid for a sports related injury in elementary and secondary education.
HB 582, introduced by Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), was assigned to Health Human Relations & Aging Committee. HB 582 would permit assisted living communities and personal care homes to enroll as Medicaid providers.
HB 604, introduced by Representative Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), was assigned to House Public Health Committee. HB 604 would provide that life is “valued and protected” from the moment of conception and that each life, from that moment, is accorded the same rights and protections guaranteed to all persons.
HB 606, introduced by Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), was assigned to House Health Committee. HB 606 creates a new exemption to the Certificate of Need (CON) law for multi-specialty physician group practices to open a “dual-specialty ambulatory surgery center” (ASC) in an urban area that providers surgery services for two specialties (e.g., orthopedics and plastic surgery). The bill also relaxes the requirements for existing single-specialty ASC exemptions by decreasing the indigent and charity care requirements and increasing the capital expenditure limits. All types of CON-exempt ASCs would be able to have outside investors with up to 70% ownership.
HB 629, introduced by Representative James Beverly (D-Macon), was assigned to House Public Health Committee. HB 629 would provide that reimbursement rates for services provided to Medicaid recipients are equal to applicable Medicare maximum allowable reimbursement rates.
HB 653, introduced by Representative Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville), was assigned to House Public Health Committee. HB 653 would amend the laws relating to regulation of hospitals and related institutions to prohibit certain surgical procedures related to gender reassignment in minors from being performed in hospitals and other licensed healthcare facilities. This bill would prohibit sex reassignment surgeries or any other surgical procedures for the purpose of altering primary or secondary sexual characteristics performed on a minor, except for those deemed medically necessary and individuals born with medically verifiable disorders of sex development. This bill would prohibit the prescribing or administering of specific hormone related drugs such as testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone to a minor in an amount greater than would normally be produced in a healthy individual of that minor’s age and sex. This bill would prohibit health care providers from performing surgeries that sterilize or alter the appearance of the sex of a minor, including vasectomies, hysterectomies, metoidioplasty, and others.
HB 659, introduced by Representative Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro), was assigned to House Special Committee on Healthcare. HB 659 would require health benefit policy coverage for biomarker testing if supported by medical and scientific evidence.
HB 660, introduced by Representative Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro), was assigned to House Special Committee on Healthcare. HB 660 would increase fine amount limits for certain licenses who violated a law, rule, or regulation which has caused the death of or serious physical harm to a resident in a long-term care facility.
SB 267, introduced by Senator Nabilah Islam (D-Lawrenceville), was assigned to Senate Health and Human Services Committee. SB 267 would amend Georgia code relating to disclosure of certain information to persons undergoing certain surgical or diagnostic procedures, failure to comply, exceptions, and regulations establishing standards for implementation to prohibit certain examinations (breast, pelvic, prostate, or rectal examinations) on an anesthetized or unconscious patient without prior informed consent.
SB 269, introduced by Senator Nabilah Islam (D-Lawrenceville), was assigned to Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee. SB 269 would prohibit the transfer or purchase of a firearm within 500 feet of a school safety zone or hospital.
SB 246, introduced by Senator Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick), was assigned to Senate Higher Education Committee. SB 246, relating to the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce, would provide for student loan repayment for a registered professional nurse duly licensed and authorized to practice in the state who holds a master’s or doctoral degree in nursing and is currently employed or has been employed for at least one year as a faculty member of a nursing program at a post-secondary institution in the state.
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY
The House Public Health Committee:
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee:
SB 164, introduced by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), would revise definitions for licensure of advanced practice registered nurses. This bill also adds “advanced practice registered nurse” to the list of those who would receive a misdemeanor charge if caught practicing without a license. This bill did go through the Georgia Occupations Regulation Review Committee (GORRC). This bill passed out of committee.
SB 197, introduced by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R–Rome), known as the “Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act”, would prohibit misleading terms or false representations by health care practitioners in advertisements and representations. This bill would also prohibit the misappropriation of medical or medical specialty titles by health care practitioners in advertisements and representations. This bill passed out of committee.
SB 223, introduced by Senator Ben Watson (R-Savannah), would authorize reimbursement of patient incurred expenses related to participation in a cancer clinical trial. This bill passed out of committee.
SB 168, introduced by Senator Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville), would amend the law to allow a chiropractic practice to have a lien on a cause of action accruing to an injured person for the costs of care and treatment of injuries arising out of the cause of action. This bill additionally included that in the case of any chiropractic lien, said lien can also be subject to any hospital lien. This bill passed out of committee.
The House Health Committee:
HB 493, introduced by Representative Matt Hatchett (R–Dublin), would revise a provision regarding verification of competency relating to renewal, surrender, and restoration of registered professional nursing licenses and continuing competency requirements. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 455, introduced by Representative John LaHood (R–Valdosta), would provide that professional programs that are established to address career fatigue and wellness in healthcare professionals are not obligated to report to licensing boardsexcept in certain circumstances. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 546, the “Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act,” was introduced by Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper), and would revise the definition of “pharmacy care” to include “adaption of a prescription drug order” into the code section. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 343, introduced by Representative Mark Newton (R-Augusta), known as the “Low Prescription Drug Costs for Patients Act”, would amend the law relating to regulation and licensure of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). This bill would require PBMs to calculate defined cost sharing for insureds at the point of sale and report those annual amounts to the department. An amendment was presented in committee to clarify that this bill would not apply to self-funded employer sponsored health insurance plans regulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This bill previously passed out of committee but was recommitted. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 441, introduced by Representative Katie Dempsey (R–Rome), would authorize and regulate teledentistry in this state by licensed dentists pursuant to permits issued by the Georgia Board of Dentistry. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 445, introduced by Representative Karen Mathiak (R–Griffin), would revise a provision relating to the administration of anesthesia by certified registered nurse anesthetists. This bill would allow certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to administer anesthesia when ordered by a duly licensed physician, dentist, or podiatrist. Currently, CRNAs can only administer anesthesia under the direction of a duly licensed physician. HB 445 did not pass out of committee.
The House Public Health Committee:
HB 226, by Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), would amend the law to require the Department of Community Health to submit a Section 1115 waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a demonstration project to provide treatment services under Medicaid to persons in this state living with HIV. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 453, introduced by Representative Scott Hilton (R–Peachtree Corners), would repeal a requirement that every ambulance service pay an annual license fee and that ambulance service annual license fees be deposited into the Indigent Care Trust Fund. This bill passed out of committee.
HB 520, introduced by Representative Todd Jones (R–South Forsyth), is follow-up legislation to 2022’s HB 1013, the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act (Known as “HB 1013 2.0”).Among other things, the bill requires the state to develop a uniform definition of “serious mental illness”; establish a clearinghouse of best practices and resources to handle individuals with serious mental illness who have frequent contact with criminal justice, homelessness or behavioral health systems; conduct a comprehensive study of behavioral health workforce in the state; create a task force to study access to inpatient behavioral health beds; study and make recommendations on ways to modernize the process for obtaining a professional license; allow psychiatric hospitals to enroll in the Medicaid program and provide services to children in fee-for-service Medicaid; seek a waiver to allow Medicaid funds to be used for housing supports, employment supports, and case management; create a Georgia Health Care Professional Data System; and establish a loan repayment program for mental health and substance use professionals. This bill passed out of committee am with three amendments incorporated.
HB 557, introduced by Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), would authorize physicians to delegate the authority to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances to advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants. There was an amendment added in committee to strike a line to disallow APRNs and Physicians Assistants to write for hydrocodone products for patients under 18 years old. The amendment would also add that APRNs and Physicians Assistants must be in good standing with the board for this bill to apply. The amendments were adopted, and the bill passed out of committee.
HB 565, introduced by Representative Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen), was assigned to House Public Health Committee. HB 565 would increase temporary assistance for needy families to change the lifetime maximum for benefits from 48 months to 60 months. This bill passed out of committee.
The Senate Insurance and Labor Committee:
SB 20, introduced by Senator Kay Kirkpatrick (R–Marietta), the “Consumer Access to Contracted Healthcare (CATCH) Act,” creates network adequacy standards for commercial health plans regulated by the state. The Act requires health plans to maintain a network of providers, including hospitals, “in sufficient number and appropriate type…through such plan’s service area to ensure covered persons have access to the full scope of benefits and services covered under such plan”, and it gives the Commissioner of Insurance the authority to define appropriate network adequacy criteria and to determine whether a plan’s network meets such criteria. The Act also restricts health plans from implementing requirements for coverage of telehealth services. There was a committee substitute introduced by the author that excludes HMOs. This bill passed out of committee by committee substitute.
The House Insurance Committee:
HB 384, introduced by Representative Sharon Henderson (D–Covington), would amend Georgia Code relating to individual accident and sickness insurance coverage for mammograms, pap smears, and prostate-specific antigen tests to provide for annual notification by insurers to male insureds of coverage for prostate-specific antigen tests. Currently, insurers provide notifications to each insured female of her coverage for mammograms after the age of 40 for as long as mammogram screening is recommended based on her individual health status, as determined by her physician. This bill passed out of committee.
The Senate Children and Families Committee:
HB 129, introduced by Representative Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville), would amend Georgia Code relating to public assistance to expand the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) eligibility criteria to pregnant women. This bill passed out of committee.
The House Judiciary Committee:
HB 470, introduced by Representative Sharon Cooper (R–Marietta), “Georgia Candor Act”, allows hospitals and other health care providers to have open discussions with patients and their families about adverse outcomes while protecting such discussions from discovery in any later lawsuit as long as certain notice requirements are met. This program is entirely voluntary for health care providers. The legislation also contains revisions to Georgia’s law governing the costs for medical records to clarify that when records are stored in an electronic format, providers may not charge more than the federal law allows when records are requested in an electronic format. This bill passed out of committee.
The House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee:
HB 383, introduced by Representative Matt Reeves (R–Duluth), known as the “Safer Hospitals Act,” would provide for enhanced penalties for aggravated assault and aggravated battery committed upon emergency health workers and healthcare workers located on a hospital campus. This bill would add “Health care worker”, meaning any employee or independent contractor of a hospital or other healthcare facility, to the existing list of professions protected. This bill passed out of committee.
The House Ways and Means Committee:
HB 482, introduced by Representative Steven Sainz (R-St. Mary’s), prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including hospitals, from utilizing the state’s Quality Jobs Tax Credit unless the jobs created are solely associated with the organizations unrelated business income. This bill passed out of committee.
PASSED BY THE HOUSE
HB 155, introduced by Representative Chuck Martin (R – Alpharetta), would provide for the issuance of licenses by endorsement for certain licenses to spouses of firefighters, healthcare providers, and law enforcement officers who relocate to the State of Georgia. “Healthcare provider”, as defined in this bill, would include any physician or other person licensed or otherwise authorized in this state to furnish healthcare services, including the following: any dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, pharmacist, psychologist, licensed professional counselor, clinical social worker, registered professional nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, registered optician, physical therapist, chiropractor, physician assistant, cardiac technician, emergency medical technician, or paramedic. This bill passed by a vote of 168-0.
HB 163, introduced by Representative Lauren McDonald (R–Cumming), would amend the law relating to the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to provide for student loan repayment for medical examiners employed by the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This bill passed by a vote of 172-1.
HB 295, introduced by Representative Lee Hawkins (R–Gainesville), known as the “Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act”, would amend the law to revise certain procedures, timelines, and other matters concerning consumer protections against surprise billing. This bill requires that insurers cover out of network emergency services in facilities at the greater of 1) the verifiable contracted amount paid by all eligible insurers, 2) the most recent verifiable contracted amount agreed to by the insurer and the facility or, 3) another higher amount agreed upon by the insurer and the facility. These provisions are already in effect for providers, but do not currently apply to facilities. This bill also changes the request for arbitration from 30 days to 60 days and gives the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire the authority to dismiss certain requests for arbitration. This bill passed by a vote of 165-0. NGHS Government Affairs has been working with Chairman Hawkins on this legislation and appreciate his leadership on this issue.
HB 308, by Representative Mark Newton (R–Augusta), would revise a tax credit for certain medical preceptor rotations to add dentistry, which is currently not included in the category of eligible recipients. This bill would change the credit for physicians and licensed dentists to $1,000 per preceptorship and $750 per preceptorship for an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. This bill passed by a vote of 169-1.
HB 332, introduced by Representative Butch Parrish (R–Swainsboro), would amend the law relating to controlled substances to provide for certain provisions relating to Schedule I controlled substances, Schedule IV controlled substances, and Schedule V controlled substances. This is the annual drug cleanup bill to ensure all schedules are up to date. This bill passed by a vote of 164-0.
HB 362, introduced by Representative Karen Mathiak (R-Griffin), would amend the law to require benefit providers to disclose certain payments, within 30 days of the written request, to a treating healthcare provider for personal injury cases. This bill defines “healthcare provider” as a person duly licensed or legally authorized to provide healthcare services and that has provided such services to an injured party. This bill passed by a vote of 164-0.
HB 384, introduced by Representative Sharon Henderson (D–Covington), would amend Georgia Code relating to individual accident and sickness insurance coverage for mammograms, pap smears, and prostate-specific antigen tests to provide for annual notification by insurers to male insureds of coverage for prostate-specific antigen tests. Currently, insurers provide notifications to each insured female of her coverage for mammograms after the age of 40 for as long as mammogram screening is recommended based on her individual health status, as determined by her physician. This bill passed by a vote of 169-1.
HB 414, introduced by Representative Shaw Blackmon (R–Bonaire), would provide for a grant program within the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to provide behavioral health services to military service members, veterans, and their families. There was a substitute presented to clarify the language to include behavioral health and addictive disease. This bill passed by a vote of 167-0.
HB 416, introduced by Representative Deborah Silcox (R–Sandy Springs), would authorize qualified pharmacy technicians to administer certain vaccines (COVID-19 vaccines) at the discretion of a supervising pharmacist. This bill passed by a vote of 164-2.
PASSED BY THE SENATE
SB 99, introduced by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), would provide a Certificate of Need (CON) exemption for acute care hospitals in rural areas established on or after July 1, 2023. An amendment that was added in committee would eliminate the requirement that the hospital must be operated by a county or municipal authority from the bill. There were two floor amendments. The first amendment, which removed the Rural Hospital Tax Credit eligibility language from the bill, was adopted. The second amendment, which corrects grammatical errors in the first amendment, was adopted. This bill passed as amended by a vote of 42-13. NGHS Government Affairs and GHA continue to work with Senate leadership on this bill in an effort to make amendments in the House that would narrow the scope of the proposed exemption.
SB 135, introduced by Senator Kay Kirkpatrick (R–Marietta), which would amend the law relating to determination of paternity to align medical and genetic testing with the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017. The bill passed by a vote of 50-0.
SB 46, introduced by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), would amend Georgia Code relating to control of sexually transmitted disease by requiring physicians and healthcare providers to test all pregnant women for HIV and syphilis at the first prenatal visit, at 28–32 weeks gestation, and at delivery. Currently, the “Georgia HIV/Syphilis Pregnancy Screening Act of 2015” requires physicians and healthcare providers to test pregnant women for HIV and syphilis, except in cases where the woman refuses testing, during the third trimester only, regardless of whether such testing was performed during the first two trimesters. This bill passed by a vote of 56-0.
SB 86, introduced by Senator Matt Brass (R-Newnan), would allow eligible students participating in the Dual Enrollment program to access HOPE grant funds for certain CTAE courses regardless of whether they have reached the maximum credit hour caps. An amendment was added on the floor that would establish participation and performance targets and provide for centralized data collection and reporting. This bill passed as amended by a vote of 55-1.