HB 87: Insurance; require health benefit policy coverage for medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices and their materials and components

Although HB 87 was originally introduced to require health insurance coverage for medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices, the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor replaced its content with a substitute focused on insurance billing transparency. The substitute adds a new section to Georgia's insurance code (O.C.G.A. Title 33) requiring that every insurance policy's declarations page and premium billing notice clearly show specific financial details. Insurers would have to disclose the deductible as both a dollar amount and a percentage, the annual premium, the state insurance premium tax, local county and municipal taxes on insurance companies, and any additional fees, charges, or surcharges. These disclosure rules would apply to policies issued, delivered, or renewed in Georgia on or after January 1, 2027, when the law would take effect.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. 33-24-14.2) requiring insurance declarations pages and premium billing notices to disclose specific financial details.
• Requires insurers to show the policy deductible as both a dollar amount and a percentage.
• Requires insurers to state the annual premium and the state insurance premium tax as a dollar amount and percentage.
• Requires disclosure of county and municipal corporation taxes on insurance companies as a dollar amount and percentage.
• Requires disclosure of any additional fees, charges, or surcharges tied to the policy.
• Sets the effective date as January 1, 2027, applying to all policies issued, delivered, or renewed in Georgia on or after that date.

Insurance companies operating in Georgia, which must redesign declarations pages and billing notices, and Georgia policyholders across insurance types, who would receive clearer breakdowns of what they pay in premiums, deductibles, taxes, and fees.

Georgians buying or renewing insurance policies after January 1, 2027 would see itemized breakdowns of deductibles, premiums, taxes, and fees rather than a single bundled cost, making it easier to understand exactly what portion of their bill goes toward taxes and surcharges versus coverage costs.

• Section 1 adds new Code section 33-24-14.2 to Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, listing five required disclosures on declarations pages and premium billing notices.
• The deductible must appear as both a dollar figure and a percentage, not just one or the other.
• State insurance premium taxes and local county and municipal taxes on insurance companies must each be itemized separately as dollar amounts and percentages.
• Any other fees, charges, or surcharges tied to the policy must also be disclosed.
• Section 2 sets the effective date at January 1, 2027, applying to policies issued, delivered, or renewed on or after that date.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting state laws.

1. 2026-03-23Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
5. 2025-03-06House Third Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-26House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
7. 2025-01-27House Second Readers (House)
8. 2025-01-17House First Readers (House)

• David Clark (R, HD-100)Primary sponsor
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• Noel Williams (R, HD-148)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Steven Sainz (R, HD-180)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   171 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #241

• insurance transparency
• insurance premiums
• insurance fees and taxes
• consumer protection