Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 866: Community Health, Department of; pilot program to improve management of inpatient insulin levels in rural hospital organizations; provide
Last action March 28, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would create a pilot grant program to help rural hospitals better manage insulin levels for hospitalized patients, run by the state's Rural Health System Innovation Center through the end of 2026.
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
Rural hospitals in Georgia sometimes lack the technology and specialty support to closely track and manage insulin levels for patients admitted for treatment, which can lead to adverse incidents and complicate care after discharge. This bill sets up a pilot program inside the Department of Community Health's Rural Health System Innovation Center to address that gap. The center could establish a grant program giving money to rural hospital organizations and physician groups to buy technology and equipment for tracking inpatient insulin, get specialty training, and share insulin management data with a patient's primary care doctor at discharge. The center would set its own grant criteria, favoring hospitals with many diabetic patients, technology commitments, partnerships with endocrinology experts, and discharge data-sharing plans. The pilot program and this new law section automatically repeal on January 1, 2027, after a report is due by December 31, 2026. The bill only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically funds it in an appropriations act.
What the bill does
- Creates a new pilot program within the Rural Health System Innovation Center to improve inpatient insulin management at rural hospitals.
- Authorizes the center to run a grant program giving money to rural hospital organizations and physician groups for insulin-tracking technology and training.
- Directs the center to set its own grant criteria, weighing diabetes rates, technology use, specialist partnerships, and discharge data-sharing plans.
- Requires a public report to state leaders by December 31, 2026 summarizing the pilot program's outcomes.
- Automatically repeals the pilot program and its authorizing law on January 1, 2027.
- Makes the entire law contingent on the General Assembly specifically appropriating funding for it.
Who it affects
Rural hospital organizations and their patients, especially those with diabetes; physician groups partnering with rural hospitals; primary care doctors who would receive discharge data; and the Department of Community Health's Rural Health System Innovation Center, which would run the program.
Why it matters
If funded, rural hospitals could get state grants to buy technology and training aimed at reducing insulin-related errors for admitted patients and improving follow-up care after discharge. Because the program expires in 2027, any benefits would be tied to this two-year test period.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends the definitions section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2-2) to add 'Center' as the Rural Health System Innovation Center within the department's State Office of Rural Health.
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 31-2-16.1 establishing the pilot program to improve inpatient insulin management at rural hospital organizations.
- The center may create a grant program funding technology, software, equipment, and specialty consultation for tracking and managing inpatient insulin levels.
- Grant criteria must consider diabetes prevalence, use of technology-enabled tools, partnerships with endocrinology experts, and discharge data-sharing plans.
- The pilot program and Code Section 31-2-16.1 automatically repeal on January 1, 2027.
- A public report on the program's outcomes is due to the Governor, legislative leaders, relevant committees, and the Office of Health Strategy and Coordination by December 31, 2026.
- Section 3 makes the entire Act effective only if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for it in an Appropriations Act.
From the bill
“The center shall conduct a pilot program to improve the management of inpatient insulin levels in rural hospital organizations, reduce adverse patient incidents, and provide data on insulin management to primary care physicians upon patient discharge.”
“The pilot program established pursuant to this Code section shall be abolished and this Code section shall stand repealed on January 1, 2027.”
“This Act shall become effective only if funds are specifically appropriated for the purposes of this Act in an Appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.”
Discussed in meetings (1)
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 Public and Community Health Committee, February 24, 2026
From 1:38:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor proposed a rural-hospital pilot offering grants and technical support to improve inpatient insulin management, with reporting to evaluate results before expansion. The sponsor said rural hospitals have limited specialist resources and that better management could reduce complications, readmissions and costs. Funding would depend on an appropriation. The sponsor also requested an update to the bill’s years, but no amendment was adopted. Members asked whether the proposal involved glucose monitors, insulin pumps or another system. The sponsor initially described equipment that would automatically administer insulin. A witness representing a technology company clarified that the main solution was software using existing hospital equipment to give clinicians real-time information and track outcomes. A member asked whether Rural Health Transformation funding could cover it. The witness believed federal guidelines allowed that and favored competitive hospital applications and partnerships with endocrinology groups. Members remained unclear about how the system differed from existing devices. The chair asked the presenters to return with specific explanations and a demonstration. No vote was taken.
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Matt Barton (R, HD-5)
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
- Lee Hawkins (R, HD-27)
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-45)
- Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
Topics
- rural hospitals
- diabetes care
- hospital funding grants
- insulin management
- health care technology