HB 1427: State employees; require state health benefit plan to cover cranial prostheses for certain covered persons

Currently the state health benefit plan, which covers state employees, public school teachers, University System of Georgia staff, and retirees, is not required to pay for medical wigs or hairpieces used by people who lose their hair because of illness. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 45-18-4.3) requiring the plan to cover cranial prostheses, defined as medical wigs or hairpieces, for covered people experiencing partial or full hair loss. The coverage applies when a licensed provider prescribes the prosthesis as part of rehabilitative treatment for a diagnosed condition, such as alopecia, cancer, hair loss from chemotherapy or radiation, or scalp injuries. The plan can apply its normal deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments to this benefit, but it cannot impose special limits that do not apply to other covered medical devices or services. The requirement would begin January 1, 2027.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 45-18-4.3) requiring the state health benefit plan to cover cranial prostheses (medical wigs or hairpieces) starting January 1, 2027.
• Defines alopecia broadly to include several forms of the autoimmune hair-loss condition, and extends coverage beyond alopecia to hair loss from cancer treatment or scalp injuries.
• Limits the benefit to prostheses prescribed by a licensed provider as part of rehabilitative treatment for a diagnosed health condition, illness, or injury.
• Allows the plan to apply its normal deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments to this benefit but bars any special cost limits not applied to other covered medical devices or services.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new requirement.

State employees, public school teachers and staff, University System of Georgia employees, and retirees covered by the state health benefit plan, particularly those with alopecia, cancer, or other conditions causing hair loss. It also affects the agencies that administer the state health benefit plan.

People on the state health benefit plan who lose their hair from conditions like alopecia or cancer treatment would gain a guaranteed path to insurance coverage for medical wigs, rather than having to pay out of pocket or seek coverage that may not currently exist, though normal deductibles and copays would still apply.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 45-18-4.3, defining 'alopecia,' 'cost-sharing requirement,' 'covered person,' 'cranial prosthesis,' and 'state health benefit plan.'
• Subsection (b) requires coverage beginning January 1, 2027 for covered persons with permanent or temporary, full or partial hair loss when prescribed by a licensed provider for rehabilitative treatment.
• Subsection (c) applies the plan's standard cost-sharing rules to this benefit and prohibits special deductibles, coinsurance, or copayment limits not applied to other covered medical devices or services.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws.

1. 2026-02-26House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-25House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)Primary sponsor
• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)

• state employee health insurance
• cranial prostheses
• alopecia coverage
• cancer treatment support
• health insurance mandates