HB 660: State government; prohibit coverage of expenses for any transition related intervention under state health benefit plan or with any state funds

This bill would add new sections to Georgia law stopping the state health benefit plan, the state Medicaid program, and any other use of state funds from paying for what the bill calls transition related intervention: surgeries or hormone treatments meant to help a person live as a gender identity different from their sex, or to treat distress from that mismatch. It also bars state owned healthcare facilities, state employed healthcare providers, and state or local correctional facilities from providing these procedures at all, including to incarcerated people. The bill carves out exceptions for treating congenital defects, precocious puberty, disease, or physical injury, and for treating complications from a prior transition procedure, but says gender dysphoria itself does not count as a qualifying disease or condition for those exceptions. It allows people, entities, or local governments to buy separate coverage for these procedures only if paid for entirely with non-state funds. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.

• Bars the state health benefit plan from covering expenses for any transition related intervention starting January 1, 2026, with rules to be set by the plan's governing board.
• Prohibits the state Medicaid program (administered under Chapter 4 of Title 49) from covering transition related interventions for medical assistance recipients.
• Bans state owned healthcare facilities and state employed healthcare providers from performing any transition related intervention on anyone.
• Bans correctional facilities owned or operated by the state, and healthcare providers employed there, from providing transition related intervention to incarcerated people.
• Prohibits any state funds from being spent on health coverage that includes transition related intervention, while allowing separately purchased coverage paid entirely with non-state funds.

State employees and their dependents covered by the state health benefit plan, Georgia Medicaid recipients, transgender Georgians seeking gender related medical care, state employed doctors and other healthcare providers, state owned hospitals and clinics, and people incarcerated in state or local correctional facilities.

People covered by the state health plan or Medicaid would lose insurance coverage for gender transition related surgery or hormone treatment, and would have to pay out of pocket or find non-state funded coverage. Incarcerated people and patients at state facilities would be unable to obtain these procedures there at all.

• Section 1 states legislative findings referencing Senate Bill 140 from 2023, which restricted these procedures for minors, and declares a policy against state funding of such care for anyone.
• Section 2 creates new Code Section 45-18-4.2, defining terms like 'transition related intervention,' 'puberty blocker,' 'sex,' and 'congenital defect,' and bars the state health plan from covering such interventions after January 1, 2026, subject to board rules and listed medical exceptions.
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 49-4-159.5, directing the state agency to prohibit Medicaid coverage of transition related intervention as defined in Section 2.
• Section 4 creates new Code Section 50-1-14, barring state funds from paying for such coverage and barring state healthcare facilities, state employed providers, and state or local correctional facilities from providing these procedures, while allowing separately purchased non-state funded coverage.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.
• Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-27House Hopper (House)

• Brent Cox (R, HD-28)Primary sponsor
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-11)
• Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-14)
• Lauren McDonald III (R, HD-26)

• transgender healthcare
• state health benefits
• Medicaid coverage
• gender dysphoria treatment
• state funding restrictions