Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 662: Health; rural hospital organization; revise definition
Last action February 18, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
House Bill 662 would broaden which rural hospitals in Georgia can qualify for the state's rural hospital tax credit program by loosening several eligibility rules in Georgia's rural hospital tax credit law (O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1).
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
Georgia gives tax credits to donors who contribute to certain qualifying rural hospitals. To qualify as a 'rural hospital organization,' a hospital currently has to meet a list of tests, including providing inpatient services at a facility in a rural county, keeping at least 10 percent of its revenue tied to indigent or charity care, and having a three-year average patient profit margin below a certain statewide benchmark. HB 662 changes several of those tests. It adds rural freestanding emergency departments (facilities that provide emergency care without full inpatient hospital services) to the list of eligible organizations. It changes the location test so a hospital qualifies if its primary campus is in a rural county, rather than requiring inpatient services there. It lowers the indigent/charity/bad debt revenue threshold from 10 percent to 5 percent, or allows qualification if the hospital is licensed to provide maternal and newborn services. It also removes the requirement that a hospital's three-year average patient profit margin stay below a certain statewide average. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Adds rural freestanding emergency departments, not just acute care hospitals, to the list of facilities that can qualify as a rural hospital organization eligible for the tax credit.
- Changes the location requirement so a hospital qualifies if its primary campus is located in a rural county, rather than requiring it to provide inpatient services there.
- Lowers the required share of annual net revenue tied to indigent care, charity care, or bad debt from 10 percent to 5 percent, or allows qualification if the hospital is licensed for maternal and newborn services.
- Removes the existing requirement that a hospital's three-year average patient profit margin stay below one standard deviation above the statewide average.
- Corrects capitalization of 'Medicare' in the Medicaid and Medicare participation requirement.
Who it affects
Rural hospitals and rural freestanding emergency departments in Georgia that seek to qualify for the state's rural hospital tax credit program, along with individuals and businesses who donate to those facilities to claim the credit, and the Department of Community Health, which administers the program.
Why it matters
By loosening the financial and service criteria, more rural hospitals and emergency facilities could become eligible for donor tax credits, potentially increasing the pool of hospitals that can raise funds this way. Removing the profit margin cap means hospitals with higher margins would no longer be excluded from the program.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 31-8-9.1, the core definition of 'rural hospital organization' used throughout the tax credit program.
- Adds rural freestanding emergency departments to the types of facilities that can qualify, alongside acute care hospitals.
- Subparagraph (A) changes the rural location test from 'provides inpatient hospital services at a facility' to 'has its primary campus' located in a rural county or being a critical access hospital.
- Subparagraph (D) lowers the indigent/charity/bad debt revenue threshold from 10 percent to 5 percent or adds an alternative path via maternal and newborn services licensing.
- Deletes former subparagraph (H), which required a hospital's three-year average patient margin to stay below a statewide benchmark calculated by the Department of Community Health.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“'Rural hospital organization' means an acute care hospital or rural freestanding emergency department licensed by the department pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 7 of this title”
“Has a three-year average patient margin, as a percent of expense, less than one standard deviation above the state-wide three-year average”
Discussed in meetings (6)
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.
House Health Committee, February 9, 2026
From 1:30:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the substitute would adjust Rural Hospital Tax Credit eligibility to help hospitals remain open. A Georgia Hospital Association witness said it would include rural emergency hospitals, add language concerning hospitals licensed to provide maternal and newborn services, lower the indigent-care revenue threshold from 10% to 5%, and remove a financial comparison test. The witness said those changes would help hospitals retain maternity services and avoid losing eligibility after improving finances or adding services. The sponsor said $79 million of the program’s $100 million allocation was used the previous year. Asked how many hospitals would gain eligibility, the presenters identified seven. The association witness explained that annual financial comparisons had caused some previously eligible hospitals to drop out. Another member said the change would restore eligibility for a hospital serving the member’s area. Asked whether the expanded definition also affected federal Rural Health Transformation funding, the witness said it did not and explained that the programs have different uses. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with no count stated.
House Rules Committee, February 17, 2026
From 0:27:00 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would amend the rural hospital tax credit program, also known as Georgia HEART, to allow additional rural hospitals to reenter the program. No questions followed. Later, the committee placed the bill on the day's calendar without stated opposition.
House floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19)
From 1:49:12 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 628
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 662 would expand the definition of a rural hospital organization for tax-credit eligibility to include a rural freestanding emergency department. The sponsor said an organization must have its primary campus in a rural county and either be licensed to provide maternal and newborn services or have at least 5% of annual net revenue classified as indigent care, charity care or bad debt. Citing a closed hospital in Telfair County, the sponsor linked access to hospitals with attracting industry and supporting rural communities. There were no questions. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill, 164 to 0.
House Rules Committee, April 2, 2026
From 0:54:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A presenter said HB 662 was incorporated into the substitute for SB 411. The presenter said the combined language removed a three-year averaging provision used to determine rural hospital tax credit eligibility because incoming Healthcare Transformation Act funding could otherwise create eligibility problems. The committee adopted the combined substitute without stated opposition.
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
Show full history (9 actions)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
- Jaclyn Ford (R, HD-170)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 17, 2026
164 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 9 excused)
Topics
- rural hospitals
- hospital tax credits
- health care funding
- emergency departments
- indigent care