---
title: HB 1002. Social services; transfer Medicaid coverage for foster children from managed care to fee-for-service
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1002
cite_as: HB 1002, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1002
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1002.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1002/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72295
date: 2026-02-19
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1002.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1002
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-16
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
  - Beth Camp
  - James Hatchett
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1002/2025
upstream_id: 2085223
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - foster care
  - Medicaid
  - managed care
  - child welfare
  - health coverage
---

# HB 1002. Social services; transfer Medicaid coverage for foster children from managed care to fee-for-service

## Text

House Bill 1002
By: Representatives Camp of the 135th and Hatchett of the 155th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to medical assistance generally, so as to transfer Medicaid coverage for foster
children from managed care to fee-for-service; to provide for definitions; to provide for
submission of state plan amendments if necessary; to provide for automatic repeal; to provide
for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
medical assistance generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"49-4-159.5.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Contract' means the agreement in effect on the effective date of this Code section
between the department and a care management organization to provide managed care
medical assistance coverage for foster children.
(2) 'Foster child' means an individual who:
</ins>
<ins>(A) Is less than 18 years of age and is in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care
system under the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of
Human Services; or
(B) Is less than 26 years of age, was in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care
system in this state, and was receiving Medicaid coverage on his or her eighteenth
birthday.
(b) Upon expiration or renewal of the contract, or earlier if authorized under the terms of
the contract, the department shall transfer all medical assistance coverage for foster
children from the care management organization to the fee-for-service Medicaid program.
(c) The department shall submit any Medicaid state plan amendments necessary to fulfill
the requirements of this Code section to the federal Department of Health and Human
Services.
(d) This Code section shall stand repealed on December 31, 2028."
</ins> SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

House Bill 1002 would move Medicaid coverage for children and young adults in Georgia's foster care system out of managed care plans and into the state's direct fee-for-service Medicaid program.

### Plain-language summary

Right now, Medicaid coverage for foster children in Georgia is handled through a care management organization, a private managed care plan the state contracts with. This bill would create a new Code section requiring the Department of Community Health to shift that coverage to fee-for-service Medicaid, where the state pays health care providers directly instead of through a managed care plan.
The change would happen when the current managed care contract expires or renews, or earlier if the contract allows it. The bill covers foster children under 18 as well as young people up to age 26 who were in foster care and had Medicaid on their 18th birthday. The department would need to submit any required amendments to its Medicaid state plan to the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The new law would automatically expire on December 31, 2028, and would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

### What it does

- Requires the Department of Community Health to move Medicaid coverage for foster children from a managed care organization to the fee-for-service Medicaid program.
- Defines 'foster child' to include those under 18 in Georgia's foster care system and those up to age 26 who were in foster care and had Medicaid at age 18.
- Sets the transfer to occur when the current managed care contract expires or renews, or sooner if the contract permits it.
- Requires the department to submit any necessary Medicaid state plan amendments to the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
- Automatically repeals the new Code section on December 31, 2028.

### Who it affects

Foster children and young adults up to age 26 who aged out of foster care while on Medicaid, the Department of Community Health, the Division of Family and Children Services, and the care management organization currently contracted to provide their Medicaid coverage.

### Why it matters

Foster children currently get Medicaid through a managed care plan; this bill would switch them to a system where the state pays medical providers directly. That could change which providers accept their coverage and how claims and care coordination are handled, at least through 2028 when the change expires.

### Key provisions

- Adds new Code section 49-4-159.5 to Georgia's Medicaid law (O.C.G.A. Title 49, Chapter 4, Article 7).
- Subsection (a) defines 'contract' and 'foster child,' covering both current foster children under 18 and former foster youth up to age 26 who had Medicaid at 18.
- Subsection (b) requires the transfer from managed care to fee-for-service Medicaid at contract expiration or renewal, or earlier if the contract allows.
- Subsection (c) requires the department to file any needed Medicaid state plan amendments with the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
- Subsection (d) automatically repeals the section on December 31, 2028.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-01-16)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-19)
- Sponsors: Beth Camp, James Hatchett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72295

> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1002.md?full=1