It was a big day under the Gold Dome as Governor Brian Kemp signed several key bills into law—including all of the Georgia Dental Association’s (GDA) top priorities. Among them was House Bill 567, GDA’s long-advocated Teledentistry Bill. This new law, over a decade in the making, allows Georgia-licensed dentists to offer teledentistry services while preserving the state’s standard of care.
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HB 567–Tele-Dentistry (Rep. Katie Dempsey): This bill allows Georgia Licensed Dentists practicing in Georgia to use telehealth systems and methodologies to extend their reach. It creates new opportunities to connect patients with dental homes as well as to allow for consultation, triage, and emergency services. The bill also includes commonsense guardrails to ensure Georgians continue to receive quality care.
HB 322–Faculty Licenses for Foreign Trained Dentists (Rep. Lee Hawkins): This bill creates a process for the Dental College of Georgia (DCG) to hire internationally trained dentists as clinical instructors for the dental college students.
HB 144–Income Tax Credit for Dentist Preceptors (Rep. Mark Newton): This bill allows dentists who serve as community-based faculty preceptors to dental students outside of the DCG clinics to earn a $1,000 tax credit for every 160-hour rotation the dentist completes. The program is administered by the state-wide Area Health Education Centers office at Augusta University.
HB 68–Medicaid Fee Reimbursement Rate Increases and Other Funding: The GDA secured a 2.5% increase for all 140 dental codes covered by Medicaid and Peachcare for Kids (CHIP). The state’s share of this increase is approximately $1.6 million, and the total value of the increase is $4.8 million. The Ben Massell Dental Clinic in Atlanta received $500,000 in funding for operational assistance.
SB 68 and 69–Tort Reform Package (Sen. John F. Kennedy): The Governor’s tort reform package was designed to help lower the costs of lawsuits by allowing for key procedural reforms such as trial bifurcation, limitations on the use of arguments intended to “anchor” noneconomic damages to arbitrary values, and evidentiary rules to better present the true cost of paying for health care. There is also a provision to limit the amount of third-party litigation funding.
GDA was proud to support these efforts to improve access to care and strengthen dental education. To learn more about the bills Governor Kemp signed into law, click the button below.
