HB 1374: Insurance; methods of payment to healthcare providers; provide certain requirements

Georgia law already limits health insurers from forcing doctors and other healthcare providers to accept payment only by credit card. This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.24) starting January 1, 2027. Insurers and their vendors could no longer require credit card payment or any payment method that carries fees. Before switching a provider to electronic funds transfer or virtual credit card payment, the insurer must disclose any fees, explain alternative fee-free options, and get the provider's written 'express acceptance' of the method. Providers keep whatever payment method they choose until they pick a new one. Insurers cannot charge a fee just to transmit payment unless the provider agrees, though providers or their billing agents may charge reasonable fees for related services like data management. A separate, unrelated part of the bill changes state purchasing law (O.C.G.A. § 50-5-68). It says government contracts can no longer be awarded simply because a supplier is prequalified, though prequalification can still count as one factor. It also blocks agencies from renewing or extending small contracts that avoided competitive bidding once their price grows past the bidding threshold, and requires new rules and a report to the General Assembly by November 1, 2026.

• Bans health insurance plans from requiring healthcare providers to accept payment only by credit card or any method that carries fees, effective for plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
• Requires insurers to disclose fees, offer fee-free payment alternatives, and get the provider's written 'express acceptance' before switching them to electronic funds transfer or virtual credit card payment.
• Bars insurers from charging a fee just to transmit an electronic payment to a provider unless the provider consents, while letting providers charge reasonable fees for related services like data management.
• Makes clear that none of these payment-method protections can be waived by contract, voiding any contract clause that tries to override them.
• Prohibits state agencies from awarding contracts based solely on a supplier's prequalified status, though prequalification can still be one factor among several.
• Blocks renewal or extension of contracts that skipped competitive bidding because they were under the bidding threshold, once the contract price grows past that threshold.

Health insurers, care management organizations, and their payment vendors; doctors, dentists, hospitals, pharmacists, and other licensed healthcare providers and their billing agents; and, on the purchasing side, the Department of Administrative Services, the commissioner of administrative services, and companies that seek prequalification for state contracts.

Healthcare providers who currently get pushed onto fee-bearing virtual credit card payments would gain a right to fee-free alternatives and a say in how they're paid, potentially reducing processing costs passed on to them. Separately, state agencies would have less flexibility to hand contracts to prequalified suppliers without competitive bidding, which could affect which companies win government business.

• Section 1-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.24, adding a definition of 'express acceptance' meaning a clear, written agreement by the provider to a payment method.
• Subsection (b) bars any health plan issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027 from making credit card payment or any fee-bearing method the only option for paying providers.
• Subsection (c) requires insurers to notify providers of fees, offer fee-free alternatives, and obtain express written acceptance before initiating or changing payment methods.
• Subsection (e) prohibits charging a fee solely to transmit an electronic funds transfer payment unless the provider has consented, while subsection (f) allows providers or their agents to charge for related value-added services.
• Section 2-1 amends O.C.G.A. § 50-5-68 to bar awarding state contracts solely on prequalification and requires new rules plus a report to the General Assembly by November 1, 2026.
• Section 2-2 adds O.C.G.A. § 50-5-69.1, barring renewal or extension of contracts that avoided competitive bidding once their price exceeds the bidding threshold, with an exception for emergency purchases.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-05Act 406
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-20Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-20Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)
• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   159 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 16 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #642

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 20, 2026

   46 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #780

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

   165 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 7 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #814

• health insurance
• medical billing
• healthcare providers
• state contracting
• government purchasing