The Georgia General Assembly got underway on Monday, January 10.
The week was largely ceremonial with Governor Brian Kemp delivering his State of the State address. In his address, Gov. Kemp discussed the impact of the Patients First Act in 2019 including growth in the number of carriers offering plans (from 4 to 11) and now 98 percent of counties in Georgia have more than one carrier (versus 26 percent in 2019). Premiums have also reduced 12 percent on average across the state. Additionally, Gov. Kemp stated that his budget proposal includes a number of items to increase the health care workforce. These items include funding to create additional residency slots and address rural physician shortages, expand nursing programs, and funding for the technical college system to expand allied health professional programs. You can read the entire 2022 State of the State address here.
It is important to remember that since this year is the second year in the biennium, legislation that did not pass last session is still eligible for this session.
Key Bills Introduced
Sen. Michelle Au, M.D. (D-Johns Creek) introduced S.R. 364 to create the Senate Costs and Effects of Smoking Study Committee. MAG supports this legislation.
Rep. Mike Cheokas (R - Americus) introduced H.B. 918, which will create the Georgia Rare Disease Advisory Council. MAG supports this legislation.
Rep. Mark Newton, M.D. (R - Augusta) introduced H.B. 867 that will require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to (1) disclose the true net cost and final net cost, if applicable, of prescription drugs to patients, (2) calculate cost sharing requirements based on the true net cost, and (3) remit the difference in cost sharing payments based on final net cost. MAG is reviewing this legislation.
MAG’s 2022 Legislative Priorities can be found here.
