SB287: SB287 Medical Assistance; Georgia Interested Parties Advisory Group within the Department of Community Health; create and establish a purpose

Georgia currently has federal requirements for states to consult with an advisory group on rates paid to home and community based service (HCBS) providers, but this bill writes that group into Georgia law. It creates the 19-member Georgia Interested Parties Advisory Group within the Department of Community Health (DCH), appointed by the Governor by October 1, 2025, to advise DCH on Medicaid HCBS matters as required by federal rules (42 C.F.R. Section 447.203). The bill also requires HCBS provider agencies and financial support services providers to submit detailed annual data on direct care workers, including wages, benefits, vacancies, turnover, and demographics, starting January 1, 2026. DCH and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) must combine this data into a public annual report to the advisory group, the General Assembly, and the Governor by March 1 each year, beginning in 2026. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates the Georgia Interested Parties Advisory Group inside the Department of Community Health, with 19 members appointed by the Governor by October 1, 2025.
• Sets the advisory group's purpose as advising DCH on Medicaid home and community based services in line with federal rules (42 C.F.R. Section 447.203).
• Requires HCBS provider agencies and financial support services providers to report detailed annual data on direct care worker wages, hours, benefits, vacancies, and demographics starting January 1, 2026.
• Directs DCH and DBHDD to compile that data into a public annual report delivered to the advisory group, the General Assembly, and the Governor by March 1 each year starting in 2026.
• Requires DCH to post information about the advisory group, including its members and meeting schedule, prominently on its website.
• Sets member compensation rules, giving no pay but allowing expense reimbursement for advisory group members.

The bill affects the Department of Community Health and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, HCBS provider agencies and financial support services providers that serve Medicaid home care recipients, direct care workers whose employment data must be reported, and members of the newly created advisory group.

Georgians who rely on Medicaid home and community based services, and the workers who provide that care, would gain a formal advisory channel and more public data on wages, staffing shortages, and turnover, which state officials and lawmakers could use when deciding how Medicaid dollars are spent on this workforce.

• New Code Section 49-4-159.5 establishes the Georgia Interested Parties Advisory Group within DCH, required by federal rule 42 C.F.R. Section 447.203(b)(6).
• Subsection (c) sets the group's composition at 19 Governor-appointed members, including a non-state-employee chairperson and representatives from DCH's Division of Medical Assistance Plans and DBHDD.
• Subsection (g) requires DCH to publish the group's purpose, members, appointment process, and meeting notices on its website.
• Subsections (h) and (i) require HCBS provider agencies and financial support services providers to submit detailed annual direct care worker data starting January 1, 2026, covering wages, hours, benefits, vacancies, and demographics.
• Subsection (j) requires DCH, with DBHDD, to compile an annual aggregated report by March 1 each year starting in 2026, covering wage ranges, turnover, vacancy rates, and provider response rates.
• Subsection (k) requires that report to be made publicly accessible on DCH's website.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without it.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)Primary sponsor
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)

• Medicaid
• home care workers
• disability services
• health policy
• state advisory boards