Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 54: Health; advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to order home healthcare services; authorize
Last action February 10, 2026 · Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended
House Bill 54 would let advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants order home healthcare services in Georgia, a role currently limited mostly to physicians, and update related definitions across state law.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, home health services such as skilled nursing, physical therapy, and home health aide visits generally must be ordered under a physician's written plan of care. This bill amends several parts of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to let advanced practice registered nurses (such as nurse practitioners) and physician assistants also order these services, as long as the person ordering the services does not have an ownership interest in the entity receiving the referral. The bill updates definitions of 'home health agency,' 'home healthcare services,' and 'plan of treatment' to include orders from these providers, adds respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as covered services, and requires continuing education on death certificates for physician assistants and certain nurses. It also lets a physician delegate authority to a physician assistant to order home healthcare services and expands a state tax credit for caregiving expenses to cover items deemed medically necessary by these providers, not just physicians.
What the bill does
- Allows advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, not just physicians, to order home healthcare services and sign plans of treatment for home health patients.
- Adds a conflict-of-interest condition barring these providers from ordering home health services for entities in which they hold an ownership interest.
- Expands the legal definition of home healthcare services to include respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as covered service categories.
- Requires physician assistants and certain advanced-practice nurses to complete biennial continuing education on recognizing causes of death and properly completing death certificates.
- Lets a physician delegate to a physician assistant, through a written job description, the specific authority to order home healthcare services (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103).
- Broadens the state's caregiving tax credit (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2) so equipment and supplies can qualify if deemed medically necessary by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, not only a physician.
Who it affects
Advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants gain new authority; home health agencies and their patients who rely on ordered care; registered nurses who administer treatments under these orders; the Department of Community Health, which licenses home health agencies; and Georgia taxpayers claiming the caregiving tax credit.
Why it matters
Patients receiving home health services could get care ordered more quickly if they see a nurse practitioner or physician assistant instead of waiting on a physician's order, potentially easing access in areas with fewer doctors, while new definitions and continuing education rules would apply across home health licensing and tax credit programs.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 16-13-72 to let nurses administer certain intravenous items to home health patients based on orders from a physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, or a physician assistant.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-6-2's definition of 'home health agency' to include care ordered by advanced practice registered nurses or physician assistants, and adds respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as listed services.
- Section 3 rewrites definitions in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-150, adding formal definitions of 'advanced practice registered nurse' and 'physician assistant' and updating 'home healthcare services' and 'plan of treatment.'
- Section 4 updates O.C.G.A. § 31-7-153 so home health agency supervision standards reference advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants alongside physicians and registered nurses.
- Section 5 updates inspection requirements in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-154 so agencies are checked for compliance with orders from these providers, not just physicians.
- Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 43-34-23 to require biennial continuing education on death certificates for physician assistants and certain nurses, approved by the relevant licensing board.
- Section 7 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103 letting a physician delegate to a physician assistant the authority to order home healthcare services.
- Section 8 expands the caregiving tax credit definition in O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2 to accept medical necessity determinations from advanced practice registered nurses or physician assistants.
From the bill
“A physician may delegate to a physician assistant, in accordance with a job description, the authority to order home healthcare services to a patient.”
Discussed in meetings (2)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15)
From 1:52:54 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A senator gave notice of an intention to move on the next legislative day to consider House action on HB 54. The clerk read the caption, describing authorization for advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to order home healthcare services, along with provisions for approving continuing education about death certificates. No debate or vote on the bill followed.
Senate floor session, February 10, 2026 (legislative day 16)
From 2:30:46 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended)
Summary by Georgia Commons: A senator moved to agree to the House amendment with further changes. The clerk described provisions allowing advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to order home healthcare and requiring death-certificate training. An opposing senator said the underlying measure also expanded caregiving tax credits. Amendment 1's sponsor proposed replacing the underlying language with restrictions on puberty blockers for minors with gender dysphoria. The sponsor cited side effects and testimony that nearly 95% of minors given blockers continued toward transition, and argued for mental-health treatment instead. Amendment 1A's sponsor proposed prohibiting state funding and certain state resources for gender-affirming care. A supporting senator said privately funded care would remain available. One opponent challenged whether the amendments belonged in a home-health bill. The chair ruled they did, and the Senate upheld that ruling, 30 to 17. Other opponents argued the changes displaced parents' and doctors' judgment, restricted adults' insurance benefits, and diverted attention from healthcare access and costs. Asked whether ordinary testosterone treatment would be covered by the restriction, an opposing senator said they understood it would not. The Senate adopted Amendment 1A and then Amendment 1 as amended, each 30 to 18. No separate final vote on the agreement motion was shown.
Status timeline
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- David Clark (R, HD-100)
- Jan Jones (R, HD-47)
- Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
- Carter Barrett (R, HD-24)
- Karen Mathiak (R, HD-82)
- David Huddleston (R, HD-72)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
177 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2025
23 yea, 30 nay (2 not voting, 1 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2025
54 yea, 1 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)
- House voteApril 4, 2025
157 yea, 0 nay (11 not voting, 12 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 10, 2026
30 yea, 17 nay (1 not voting, 6 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 10, 2026
30 yea, 18 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 10, 2026
30 yea, 18 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)
Topics
- home healthcare
- nurse practitioners
- physician assistants
- health licensing
- caregiver tax credit