Legislative Update Week 2 and 3
Due to the snow fun, the legislator has moved their schedule around some. The Legislature has completed days 6 through 14. The Senate has passed bills regarding property taxes, ethics, and elections. The House has proposed legislation regarding literacy and passed several bills spanning a large array of topics.
On Tuesday 1/27, Jon and Janelle were excited to attend the House Health Subcommittee on Appropriations to request $150,000 to help the GDA run our series of GMOM events this year. The House subcommittee was favorable to this request. The most important piece of legislation they passed this week was amended FY26 budget also known as the baby budget. In this budget, the GDA is excited to announce that we have received $150,000 to help facilitate our April GMOM event as well as hosting a second event in the fall in South Georgia. The amended budget is now headed to the Senate and we will continue to advocate for this money as it move through the process in Senate.
The GDA is also excited to announce the that G30330 (facility fee) code has become active which allows for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to reimburse for anesthesia at a rate of almost $1400. The activation of this code will help our dentists be able to serve more patients at a more favorable rate. This week, the House Health Committee heard and voted on legislation relating to stop the bleed kits in all k-12 public schools and a bill that would mandate insurance companies pay for non-opioid pain medication at a rate as favorable as opioid based pain medication.
Both House and Senate members have dropped a large handful of bills and we are tracking the ones we think are most vital to us. Please see below the new bills the GDA is tracking!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me (janelle@gadental.org) or Jon (jon@gadental.org).
SB460 Department of Community Health; determine and verify eligibility of Medicaid applicants and Medicaid recipients and to manage Medicaid enrollment; provide (Senate Read and Referred, 02/05/2026)
SB461 Department of Human Services; the single state agency responsible for the administration of the state Medicaid program; provide (Senate Read and Referred, 02/05/2026)
HB1214 Sales and use tax; new special purpose local option sales tax dedicated to certain healthcare purposes; provide (House Hopper, 02/05/2026)
HR1008 State-wide water management plan; ratify amendments (Senate Read and Referred, 02/02/2026)
HB991 Labor and industrial relations; definition of employment for certain services performed by certain healthcare technology platform contractors; provisions (House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute, 01/29/2026)
HB1054 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 2026; enact (House Second Readers, 01/29/2026)
HB1002 Social services; transfer Medicaid coverage for foster children from managed care to fee-for-service (House Second Readers, 01/28/2026)
HB981 Professions and businesses; expand certain advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant prescriptive authorizations (House Second Readers, 01/27/2026)
HB961 Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act; insurance coverage for certain out-of-network ambulance transportation service; provide (House Second Readers, 01/16/2026)
HB951 Insurance; require health benefit policy coverage for medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices and their materials and components (House Second Readers, 01/15/2026)
HB765 Medical Debt Protection Act; enact (House Second Readers, 03/18/2025)
HB573 Insurance; remove dentists from participation with care management organizations (House Second Readers, 02/26/2025)
SB427 Physicians; limited provisional licenses and a pathway to licensure for certain internationally trained physicians; provide (Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute, 02/05/2026)
SB428 Medical Assistance; Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; direct (Senate Read and Referred, 01/28/2026)
SB380 Medical Assistance; authorization of appropriations for obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers of Medicaid expansion; provide (Senate Read and Referred, 01/13/2026)
SB323 Health, Insurance, and Professions and Businesses; medically necessary tests for metal allergies and metal sensitivities to be administered prior to any cardiovascular, dental, or orthopedic surgery involving the insertion of a metal implant; provide (Senate Read and Referred, 03/06/2025)
