---
title: HB 658. Insurance; certain consumer protections contingent upon repeal of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb658
cite_as: HB 658, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb658
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb658.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb658/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70937
date: 2025-03-03
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb658.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 658
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Scott Holcomb
- Carolyn Hugley
- Tanya Miller
- Michelle Au
- Saira Draper
- Esther Panitch
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB658/2025
upstream_id: 1987849
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- health insurance
- Affordable Care Act
- preexisting conditions
- preventive care
- insurance regulation
---
# HB 658. Insurance; certain consumer protections contingent upon repeal of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; provide
## Text
House Bill 658
By: Representatives Holcomb of the 101st, Hugley of the 141st, Miller of the 62nd, Au of the
50th, Draper of the 90th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
insurance generally, so as to provide for certain consumer protections contingent upon the
repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; to provide for definitions; to
provide that preventive services shall be included at no additional cost to the insured; to
include dependents in coverage up to age 26; to prohibit a health benefit policy issued in this
state from imposing an annual or lifetime limit of coverage; to provide for exceptions; to
provide for a right to appeal; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to insurance
generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"33-24-59.34.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Cost-sharing amount' means the share of costs an insured person is required to pay
under a health benefit plan for certain covered healthcare services which may include
deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, or other similar charges, but does not include
premium payments.
(2) 'Essential health benefits' means:
(A) Ambulatory patient services;
(B) Chronic disease management;
(C) Emergency services;
(D) Hospitalization;
(E) Laboratory services;
(F) Maternity and newborn care;
(G) Mental health and substance use disorder services;
(H) Pediatric services, including oral and vision care for children;
(I) Prescription drugs; and
(J) Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.
The terms listed in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of this paragraph shall be further
defined through regulations to be promulgated by the Commissioner which shall be based
on the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et
seq., as it existed immediately prior to being repealed.
(3) 'Health benefit plan' means any hospital, health, or medical expense insurance policy,
hospital or medical service contract, employee welfare benefit plan, contract or
agreement with a health maintenance organization, subscriber contract or agreement, or
preferred provider organization. Such term shall also include any health insurance plan
established under Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 45.
(4) 'Preventive services' means screening tests, counseling, and preventive medicines,
or treatments provided or conducted to prevent a medical illness or condition prior to
symptoms or physical manifestations of such medical illness or condition.
(b) No health benefit plan shall be offered or issued in this state which:
(1) Limits or restricts payment of benefits for any medical illness or condition solely
because such illness or condition preexisted the application for such plan. This
preexisting condition exclusion prohibition shall also prohibit insurers of health benefit
plans from denying an application for insurance coverage due to the existence of a
preexisting condition or charging an applicant with a preexisting condition a higher
premium than a similar applicant without such condition would be charged, due to the
existence of such condition;
(2) Does not cover preventive services as described in the federal Patient Protection and
federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et seq., as
it existed immediately prior to being repealed. Such coverage shall be provided without
any cost-sharing amount being charged to the insured;
(3) Imposes an annual or lifetime limit on the provision of essential health benefits;
(4) Does not offer coverage of any person who is a dependent child of an insured parent
or guardian, up to and including age 26, so long as the coverage of such insured parent
or guardian continues in effect and such child remains a dependent of such parent or
guardian. Upon such child becoming 26 years of age, the insurer of such child's parent
or guardian shall open a special enrollment period of 30 days, during which time such
child may enroll with such insurer; or
(5) Allows the insurer to cancel or nonrenew such plan for any reason other than the
failure to pay any premium when due or the intentional provision of false or incomplete
information on the application.
(6) Allows for any underwriting other than that allowed by the federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et seq., as it existed immediately prior
to being repealed.
(c) This Code section shall apply to all policies, contracts, and certificates executed,
delivered, issued for delivery, continued, renewed, and only upon the repeal of the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et seq."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective only upon the repeal of the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act.
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.
A Georgia House bill would write several Affordable Care Act consumer protections, like coverage of preexisting conditions and dependents up to age 26, into state insurance law, but only if the federal health care law is ever repealed.
### Plain-language summary
Right now, protections such as required coverage of preexisting conditions, free preventive care, coverage for dependents up to age 26, and bans on annual or lifetime coverage limits come from the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et seq.). This bill adds a new section to Georgia's insurance code (O.C.G.A. Chapter 24 of Title 33) that would put similar protections into state law, but the new rules would only take effect if the federal Affordable Care Act is repealed.
The bill defines terms like essential health benefits, cost-sharing amounts, and preventive services, largely by reference to the federal law as it existed before any repeal. It would bar health plans from denying coverage or charging more for preexisting conditions, require preventive services at no extra cost, require coverage of dependents to age 26 with a 30-day special enrollment window after that, ban annual or lifetime coverage limits, and limit when insurers can cancel or refuse to renew a policy. Section 2 makes the whole act effective only upon repeal of the federal law.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia insurance code section (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.34) that mirrors several Affordable Care Act consumer protections, but only takes effect if that federal law is repealed.
- Bars health plans from denying coverage or charging higher premiums because of a preexisting medical condition.
- Requires health plans to cover preventive services, such as screening tests and preventive medicines, with no cost-sharing charged to the insured.
- Prohibits health plans from imposing annual or lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits like hospitalization, maternity care, and prescription drugs.
- Requires coverage of dependent children up to age 26 and creates a 30-day special enrollment period once a dependent turns 26.
- Limits insurers to canceling or not renewing a policy only for nonpayment of premium or false information on the application.
### Who it affects
Georgians who buy individual or group health insurance, including people with preexisting conditions, young adults up to age 26 covered as dependents, and anyone relying on preventive care; also health insurers and HMOs operating in Georgia, and the state Insurance Commissioner, who would write implementing regulations.
### Why it matters
If the Affordable Care Act were ever repealed, Georgians could otherwise lose protections like guaranteed coverage for preexisting conditions, free preventive care, and coverage for dependents up to 26. This bill would keep those specific protections in place under state law even without the federal law.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.34, defining terms such as 'cost-sharing amount,' 'essential health benefits,' 'health benefit plan,' and 'preventive services,' largely by reference to the pre-repeal federal Affordable Care Act.
- Subsection (b)(1) bars insurers from limiting benefits, denying coverage, or charging higher premiums based on a preexisting condition.
- Subsection (b)(2) requires coverage of preventive services with no cost-sharing amount charged to the insured.
- Subsection (b)(3) prohibits annual or lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits.
- Subsection (b)(4) requires coverage of dependents up to age 26 and a 30-day special enrollment period after a dependent turns 26.
- Subsection (b)(5) restricts insurers from canceling or nonrenewing a plan except for nonpayment of premium or false application information.
- Subsection (c) and Section 2 state that the new rules and the Act as a whole apply and take effect only upon repeal of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-03)
- Sponsors: Scott Holcomb, Carolyn Hugley, Tanya Miller, Michelle Au, Saira Draper, Esther Panitch
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70937
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb658.md?full=1