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January 25, 2001 For more information contact: 404-817-6133 404-817-6247 404-817-6170 |
The Flag issue moves forward!
It was another big day at the Capitol!
The flag bill, HB 16, came out of the Senate Committee, State and Local
Government Operations ("SLOGO"), to which it had been assigned late in
the afternoon by a vote of 4 to 3. Needless
to say, the Committee hearing room was packed to capacity, including media and
law enforcement. Continuing
the debate between the optometrists and ophthalmologists, the House passed out
HB 195, an expansion of the scope of practice by allowing prescriptive authority
to optometrists, by a vote of 97 yeas to 73 nays.
There were seven Representatives who were not voting and three who had
been excused. Newly
Introduced Legislation
SB 63 – Sens.
Tim Golden and Bill Stephens have dropped this legislation amending the
Insurance Code in Title 33 by creating a new Chapter, 59. This bill proposes to create the "Georgia Consumer
Choice Negotiated Health Insurance Plan Act."
It would allow for policies and contracts to contain benefits, coverages,
and reimbursements as agreed upon between the group or individual policyholder
and an insurer. Specific
provisions:
"(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title and except as
provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, from and after July 1, 2001,
any insurer authorized to transact business in this state shall be authorized to
enter into policies or contracts of group, blanket, or individual accident and
sickness insurance with any person to provide only such benefits, coverages, and
reimbursements for services as may be mutually agreed upon between the group or
individual policyholder and such insurer. It is believed
that this is a bill which has been pushed by the National Federation of
Independent Businesses. Budget
News
The House Subcommittee on Human Development held a late afternoon meeting
and agreed to a number of proposals for the Department of Human Resources' items
to include in the FY 2001 (Supplemental Budget).
Some of these include: 1) American Association of Adaptive Sports Programs – a one-time amount of $51,500 (this is for children with disabilities); 2) Child Kind – also a one-time request in the amount of $40,000 for children with AIDS and HIV (this group has previously served the Metro area primarily but serves other areas in Georgia as well); 3) Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children – this entity received funding for additional training of child protective workers. There is already approximately $800,000 in the budget for training. 4) Georgia Transplant Association – this group will get funding for those receiving organ transplants to also be better able to acquire needed medications by helping them get jobs. Currently, a transplant recipient gets drugs, through federal programming, only for four years following an organ transplant. 5) TEACH – Georgia Association for Young Children – This entity will be receiving $150,000 for training of child care workers. This is modeled after a North Carolina project. 6) Multiple Choices – While specifically designated to fund a project out of Athens, Georgia, this entity actually provides services for persons in 11 counties. This is a one-time request. These persons have some form of disability and this program allows them independent living. 7) Community Outreach Workers – There was a great deal of discussion concerning the request to fund this. Rep. Henrietta Turnquest originally made the plea for this group. In the end the Subcommittee agreed to allow a $75,000 proposal in the Supplemental Budget to be annualized at $300,000. This group has been supportive by placing workers in ZapAsthma – a project to help educate parents and children about asthma. In
concluding the meeting, Rep. Sinkfield noted that she needed help from her
fellow members to get an additional $200,000 in the Budget for the Child
Advocate Office. Apparently, the
Governor last year had funded only $300,000 with the anticipation of needing an
overall amount of $500,000. This
would help make up the difference.
In the Senate, the Senate Subcommittee on Human Development met to hear
from the Commissioner of the Department of Community Health, Russ Toal.
Mr. Toal outlined various initiatives that his Department has undertaken
and gave a brief status report on Medicaid, PeachCare, the State Health Benefit
Plan, the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, the Office of Women's
Health and the Office of Rural Health to the Subcommittee. Next week, this Subcommittee will start delving into specific
Budget items. Committee
News
The House Insurance Committee passed out two bills.
HB 24, authored by Rep. Rich Golick, relates to the "closure of a
loophole" relating to unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive
acts/practices in the insurance business.
Specifically, the Committee passed out the bill by Committee Substitute
by inserting a new division (b)(8)(A)(iv) at O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4 to read as
follows: "(iv) For an individual
residing in Georgia, refusing to insure or refusing to continue to insure an
individual; limiting the amount, extent, or kind of coverage available to an
individual; or charging an individual a different rate for the same coverage
because of the race, color, or national or ethnic origin of that individual.
This division shall apply to any kind of insurance." The Committee amended the bill by
adding the language underlined above.
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