Georgia General Assembly Passes the Hemophilia Advisory Board Act
Bill Awaits Governor's Signature
With only two days left in the legislative session, the Georgia House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 159, the Hemophilia Advisory Board Act, by a vote of 158 to 3. Since the bill had previously been approved by the Senate, the March 30th vote means the bill will go to the governor at the end of the session. The governor can sign the bill into law, veto the bill, or do nothing, in which case the bill will automatically become law.
The Hemophilia Advisory Board Act directs the head of the Division of Public Health in the Department of Human Resources, in conjunction with the state insurance commissioner, to set up an independent advisory board. The volunteer board will be made up of a hematologist, nurse, and social worker who treat people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders; representatives from a hemophilia treatment center, a hemophilia non-profit, an insurance company; and people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders and their parents. The board will recommend ways the state can better meet the needs of the bleeding disorders community, including providing better access to health insurance, enacting standards of care, and increasing awareness of proper treatment. The text of the bill can be read online at www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/sb159.htm. Similar legislation has passed in Texas, Iowa, and Illinois.
Senate Bill 159 was sponsored by Senators Johnny Grant of Milledgeville, Renee Unterman of Buford, and Don Thomas of Dalton. Senator Grant spoke very eloquently about the need for the legislation on the floor of the Senate and in both the House and Senate Health and Human Services Committee meetings. In the House, the bill was championed by Representative Ed Rynders of Leesburg, who took it to the Rules Committee and presented the bill on the House floor.