Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 380: Medical Assistance; authorization of appropriations for obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers of Medicaid expansion; provide

Last action January 13, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would authorize state funding to draw down federal Medicaid dollars for expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, but only if the federal government keeps paying at least 90 percent of the cost.

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In plain language

Georgia has not expanded Medicaid under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's Medicaid law directing the Department of Community Health to authorize state appropriations (state funding) needed to draw down matching federal money, known as federal financial participation, to pay providers who treat Medicaid recipients and to cover the state's share of expanding the Medicaid program. The bill ties that authorization to a condition: the state would not be required to authorize the funding if the federal government stops covering at least 90 percent of the cost of expansion. The bill does not set a dollar amount or an expansion start date; it creates the legal mechanism for the state to fund its share if expansion moves forward under current federal cost-sharing terms.

What the bill does

Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 49-4-142.6) requiring the Department of Community Health to authorize state appropriations to obtain federal Medicaid matching funds.
Directs that authorized funding cover the state's share of the cost to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
Sets a condition that the state is not required to authorize this funding unless the federal government pays at least 90 percent of the expansion cost.
Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new provision.

Who it affects

Georgians who would become newly eligible for Medicaid under an expansion, Medicaid providers who bill the program for care, and the Department of Community Health, which would be responsible for authorizing the state funding needed to unlock federal matching dollars.

Why it matters

If enacted, the bill would give Georgia a standing legal basis to fund its share of Medicaid expansion, potentially extending health coverage to more low-income residents, but only while federal funding stays at 90 percent or higher, leaving the state's commitment conditional on federal policy.

Key provisions

Section 1 adds new Code section 49-4-142.6 to Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49, Georgia's Medicaid law.
Subsection (a) requires the Department of Community Health to authorize appropriations to obtain federal financial participation for provider payments and to fund the state's cost share of Medicaid expansion under federal law (P.L. 111-148 and P.L. 111-152).
Subsection (b) exempts the state from this authorization requirement if the federal government provides less than 90 percent of the funding.
Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws.

From the bill

“Such appropriations authorization shall not be required in the event the federal government does not provide a minimum of 90 percent of such funding.”
This clause frees the state from the funding requirement if federal support drops below 90 percent.

“The department shall authorize appropriations for the purposes of obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers on behalf of Medicaid recipients”
This is the bill's core directive requiring state funding to draw down federal Medicaid matching dollars.

Status timeline

2026-01-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2026-01-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

Medicaid expansion
health care funding
Affordable Care Act
state budget

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