This Year Under the Gold Dome
Horizons in Hemophilia, May 2013
By Michelle Putnam, MPH, Associate Director of Research and Advocacy
Most of the news you heard coming from the Gold Dome this year probably centered around the Georgia Dome, an issue that was hotly debated over the course of the legislative session. But, the Georgia General Assembly also considered plenty of other issues, including immigration and juvenile justice, and, of course, health care. This month we will run down a few of the most important health items that legislators considered in 2013.
One of the most important tasks the legislature has to complete each legislative session is to approve the state's budget. This year, they modified the current 2013 budget and set the budget for fiscal year 2014. For both years, the Governor recommended a cut to the Hemophilia of Georgia uninsured program. HoG clients met with members of the House and Senate Appropriations committee at Hemophilia Day at the Capitol and called members of the General Assembly to ask them to restore this cut in order to keep this program stable. Our efforts were successful in getting the legislature to restore enough funding back to the program to keep it stable through at least 2014.
Legislators also tackled a number of other health issues this year, including Medicaid. Two separate bills (House Resolution 107 and Senate Bill 62) created study committees to look at the state's Medicaid program and to evaluate current policies and the ways that the state pays for the program. Currently, Georgia Medicaid covers about 1.6 million low-income people, mostly mothers, children, the elderly and the disabled. Under the Affordable Care Act, Georgia has the option of expanding the program to include childless adults who make less than $15,415 a year, (these adults do not currently qualify for Medicaid coverage). So far, Governor Deal has said that Georgia will not participate in the Medicaid expansion, leaving low-income adults without a pathway to health insurance. As a member of the Cover Georgia Coalition, HoG will use these study committees as a way to educate lawmakers about the importance of the Medicaid program.
Health providers and hospitals were occupied during most of the session with a bill that would renew a "provider fee" on hospitals in order to continue help fund Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids. The current fee had been set to expire this year, and legislators and hospitals haggled throughout the session to figure out an appropriate solution. Governor Deal introduced a bill (Senate Bill 24) that effectively moved this decision from the General Assembly to the Department of Community Health, and the fee is expected to be renewed under this new authority. The provider fee will help fill an approximately $500 million gap in the Medicaid budget.
Legislators also passed legislation that would require insurance companies to notify consumers of any increases in their premiums attributable to the Affordable Care Act (Senate Bill 236). There are no rules as to how insurance companies would determine this amount, and no requirement to present any other information to consumers about premium tax credits and other offsets that may help make premiums more affordable. The bill could lead to consumers having incomplete and inaccurate information about their insurance premiums.
HoG actively supported legislation that limits an insurer's ability to institute a specialty tier in an insurance policy without due notice (House Bill 644, introduced by Representative Tom Taylor). This bill would require that insurers notify people no less than ninety days prior to moving medications to a specialty tier. The bill did not move out of committee this legislative session, but it will be up again for debate next year. Advocates will have an important opportunity to educate legislators on how specialty tiers can negatively impact people who rely on specialty medications.
If you have any questions about any of these bills, or questions about the General Assembly or how to communicate with your legislator, don't hesitate to email Michelle Putnam at mputnam@hog.org.