Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 795: Public Health, Department of; establish an Infant Wellness Resource hotline service
Last action March 21, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would create a 24-hour Infant Wellness Resource hotline through the Department of Public Health to connect parents and caregivers with healthcare help for sick infants under age three.
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 Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia does not currently operate a dedicated hotline for infant health concerns. This bill would direct the Department of Public Health to establish, funding permitting, an Infant Wellness Resource hotline that operates around the clock to take calls from people seeking help for an infant under three years old who is sick or having a health issue. Hotline staff would sort calls into emergencies and non-emergencies. Emergency calls get an immediate warm hand-off to 911, with staff staying on the line during the transfer. Non-emergency calls get referred to healthcare programs, professionals, or resources, and callers would be guaranteed a telehealth consult with a licensed healthcare professional within two business days. The Department of Administrative Services would contract with at least ten healthcare providers to deliver these telehealth services. The bill also creates training and outreach requirements, sets limits on how hotline funds can be spent, and grants good-faith immunity from civil and criminal liability to people who make referrals or connections through the hotline.
What the bill does
- Establishes a 24-hour Infant Wellness Resource hotline within the Department of Public Health, subject to available funding, to help callers with a sick or ill infant under age three.
- Requires hotline staff to determine if a call is an emergency and, if so, perform a 'warm hand-off' transfer to 911 without placing the caller on hold.
- Guarantees non-emergency callers referred for healthcare services a telehealth consultation with a licensed healthcare professional within two business days.
- Directs the Department of Administrative Services to contract with at least ten healthcare providers to deliver telehealth services, using criteria like language access and ability to serve callers regardless of insurance status.
- Grants civil and criminal immunity to people who make referrals or connections through the hotline, as long as they act in good faith.
- Limits use of hotline funding, barring reimbursement of copayments required by commercial insurance policies.
Who it affects
Parents and caregivers of infants under three, Department of Public Health staff who would run the hotline, the Department of Administrative Services, healthcare professionals contracted to provide telehealth services, and local 911 emergency services that would receive transferred emergency calls.
Why it matters
Families with a sick infant would gain a dedicated, round-the-clock way to get connected to healthcare help or emergency services quickly, including a guaranteed telehealth appointment within two days for non-emergency concerns, potentially easing access for uninsured or non-English-speaking callers.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 31-2A-21, defining key terms like 'emergency,' 'healthcare professional,' 'infant' (under three years old), and 'telehealth.'
- Subsection (b) creates the hotline, operating 24 hours a day subject to available funding.
- Subsection (c) sets procedures for emergency calls (immediate warm hand-off to 911) versus non-emergency calls (referral plus a telehealth consult within two business days).
- Subsection (d) requires the Department of Administrative Services to contract with ten or more healthcare providers, screened by criteria including language ability, telehealth experience with infants, and willingness to serve uninsured callers.
- Subsection (e) requires development of staff training, promotional materials placed in public locations, and a website description of the hotline, subject to funding.
- Subsection (f) restricts use of hotline funds, allowing reimbursement for uninsured callers' care but barring payment of commercial insurance copayments.
- Subsection (g) provides good-faith civil and criminal immunity for people making referrals or connections through the hotline.
- Subsection (h) authorizes the department to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the hotline program.
From the bill
“the department shall establish and maintain, on a 24 hour per day basis, an Infant Wellness Resource hotline service, which shall receive and respond to calls from persons who are seeking help for an infant who is experiencing a health issue or illness”
“At no time during a warm hand-off conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall a caller be placed on hold.”
“Callers referred for healthcare services under this paragraph shall be provided the opportunity to consult with an authorized healthcare professional via telehealth within two business days”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Park Cannon (D, HD-58)
- Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
- Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
- Tanya F. Miller (D, HD-62)
- Bryce Berry (D, HD-56)
Topics
- infant health
- public health hotline
- telehealth
- Department of Public Health
- child healthcare access