Legislature Week of Jan 18
The Georgia General Assembly got a bunch of new bills in the hopper this week with one aimed at correcting election issues from 2020 and 2022. House Bill 949 was introduced on Jan. 12. This bill states that voting devices or systems in any election in Georgia can’t use wireless technology or wireless network cards.
Election fraud allegations are that equipment was connected to the internet when that is forbidden and poses a security risk. Other allegations presented in several court cases are that there were hacks or attempted hacks from foreign countries in the election network of Georgia and other states during the 2020 elections.
This bill also stipulates how the wireless cards and tech should be removed or disabled before the voting period begins. It has six House sponsors including Reps. Mitchell Scoggins and Trey Kelley, both Republicans.
The State Senate has an appropriations bill in the hopper to obtain federal money to pay health care providers under Medicaid expansion. The state has been talking about expanding Medicaid ever since the Affordable Health Care Act came to be but remains one of 10 states that haven’t expanded it.
Figures state that Medicaid expansion would give between 345,000 and 450,000 Georgians health insurance coverage that currently can’t afford it. Income eligibility would be those whose earnings are at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line which equates to $27,300 for a family of three.
The cost of an expansion is estimated to be nearly $350 million over the next 10 years. That estimate includes new revenue totaling $1.75 billion.
Some lawmakers feel the pressure of doing something with Medicaid since it started what is called unwinding last April. Unwinding is when eligibility determinations are reconsidered. That means all the 2.7 million Georgians currently covered by Medicaid and PeachCare will need to be reverified for eligibility. It’s a 14-month process so it should be completed by next June. It’s believed many of those people will no longer qualify for any new eligibility requirements the federal and state governments have for Medicaid. They will have to get other coverage through HealthCare.gov, which is part of the Affordable Health Care Act.
The state began two programs last year to ease the burden on lower-income Georgians. One is the Pathways to Coverage program which gives a partial expansion of Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults. Conditions are they comply with reporting requirements that include work requirements.
Georgia launched its state-based health insurance marketplace last November. The program assists adults and their families in the lower and middle-income range who get health insurance through Healthcare.gov.
It remains uncertain how Medicaid expansion will shake out but there are 60 other bills relating to healthcare already introduced.
Those include:
H.B. 576 allows for permits for assisted living communities and personal care homes to enroll as Medicaid providers.
H.B. 661 called the Improve Health Outcomes for New Mothers Act will expand Medicaid to allow for coverage to provide for healthcare in lactation and postpartum care. It will allow mothers to retain Medicaid eligibility for one year after giving birth.
H.B. 143, if passed, will include glucose monitors as a pharmacy benefit for Medicaid patients.
S.B. 17 provides for a program to help eligible people pay for healthcare coverage.
H.B. 576 prohibits healthcare providers and facilities from discriminating against those seeking organ transplants based on their vaccine status.
S.B. 1 automatically repeals the prohibition on state and local governments from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for government services.
S.B. 15 called the Reproductive Free Act is an attempt to chip away at Georgia’s anti-abortion laws. It would provide exceptions to requirements to notify parents or legal guardians of the child seeking an abortion, repeal provisions making some abortions criminal, and repeal the Woman’s Right to Know Act that requires doctors to show their patient details of what the unborn child looks like and how abortions are performed. It also allows for court relief and damages against the state related to abortions.
H.B. 1 mandates compensation for pregnant women who would get an abortion but can’t under Georgia’s heartbeat bill. Compensation includes “reasonable living, legal, medical, psychological, and psychiatric expenses” related to pregnancy. That includes a trained nurse to make home visits throughout the pregnancy and up to the child’s second birthday, among other programs.
Another health and safety-related bill HB 927 would allow hunters to wear flourescent pink instead of the traditional orange. The bill also changes some of the rules about hog hunting.