HB 1138: Increasing Access to Contraceptives Act; enact

Currently, Georgians generally need a prescription from a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to get hormonal contraceptives. This bill, called the Increasing Access to Contraceptives Act, creates a new pathway: pharmacists who complete specific training and follow a state-issued protocol could dispense self-administered contraceptives (like the pill) or give injectable contraceptives directly to patients, after a required risk-screening questionnaire and counseling. The bill also changes insurance rules. Health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs would have to cover at least a three-month supply of contraceptives on a patient's first fill and a 12-month supply after that, up to 12 months total per year. Georgia's Medicaid program would have to follow the same supply rules for women enrollees, and reimburse pharmacists for dispensing contraceptives at rates no lower than what physician assistants and nurse practitioners receive. The changes take effect January 1, 2027.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 26-4-53) letting trained pharmacists dispense self-administered contraceptives or give injectable contraceptives under a state-issued protocol, without a patient-specific prescription.
• Requires pharmacists to complete an accredited certificate program (12 hours self-study, 8 hours seminar, exam, and hands-on injection training) plus annual continuing education before dispensing.
• Requires pharmacists to screen patients with a risk questionnaire, provide written materials and counseling, and refer patients showing signs of abuse to social services.
• Shields pharmacists who follow the protocol from criminal or civil liability for dispensing contraceptives under this authority.
• Requires private health insurance plans to cover a three-month starter supply and then 12-month supplies of prescription contraceptives, up to 12 months per year.
• Requires Georgia's Medicaid program to provide the same supply amounts to women recipients and to reimburse pharmacists at rates equal to physician assistants and nurse practitioners for the same service.

Georgia pharmacists and their employers (hospitals and licensed pharmacies), women and other patients seeking contraception, private health insurers operating in Georgia, the Department of Public Health, the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy, and the Georgia Medicaid program serving women recipients.

Patients could get birth control pills or contraceptive shots directly from a trained pharmacist instead of first seeing a doctor, and could pick up a year's supply at once instead of refilling monthly. Insurers and Medicaid would have to pay for these larger supplies and reimburse pharmacists for the service.

• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 26-4-53, requiring the Department of Public Health and the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy to issue a joint protocol by January 1, 2027 governing training, patient screening, documentation, and reporting for pharmacist-dispensed contraceptives.
• Section 2 sets specific training requirements: 12 hours of self-study, 8 hours of seminar, a written exam, and hands-on injection assessment, plus one hour of annual continuing education.
• Section 2 requires pharmacists to obtain a risk-screening questionnaire from each patient and provide counseling on side effects, backup contraception, and sexually transmitted disease risk before dispensing.
• Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.37, requiring insurance plans covering prescription drugs to provide a three-month starter supply and then 12-month supplies of contraceptives, capped at 12 months per year.
• Section 3 bars insurers from denying reimbursement to pharmacists dispensing contraceptives under the new law and requires reimbursement rates equal to those paid to physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 49-4-159.5, applying the same supply rules and pharmacist reimbursement requirement to Georgia's Medicaid program for women recipients.
• Section 4 directs the department to submit any needed Medicaid state plan amendment or waiver request to federal health officials to implement these changes.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as January 1, 2027, applying to insurance policies issued or renewed on or after that date.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2027-01-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 447
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)

• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)Primary sponsor
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
• Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   162 yea, 4 nay (2 not voting, 9 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #613

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   29 yea, 22 nay (2 not voting, 1 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #1 By The Senator From The 1st: Senate Vote #930

4. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   49 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #931

5. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   158 yea, 11 nay (4 not voting, 3 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #874

• contraceptive access
• pharmacist prescribing
• health insurance coverage
• Medicaid coverage
• reproductive health