---
title: SB 380. Medical Assistance; authorization of appropriations for obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers of Medicaid expansion; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb380
cite_as: SB 380, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb380
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb380.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb380/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72154
date: 2026-01-13
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb379.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb380.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 380
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-12
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - David Lucas
  - Josh McLaurin
  - Harold Jones
  - Kim Jackson
  - Elena Parent
  - Nikki Merritt
  - Sonya Halpern
  - Nabilah Islam Parkes
  - Sally Harrell
  - RaShaun Kemp
  - Kenya Wicks
  - Gail Davenport
  - Randal Mangham
  - Jaha Howard
  - Sheikh Rahman
  - Ed Harbison
  - Derek Mallow
  - Tonya Anderson
  - Nan Orrock
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB380/2025
upstream_id: 2072034
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Medicaid expansion
  - health care funding
  - Affordable Care Act
  - state budget
---

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

## Text

Senate Bill 380
By: Senators Lucas of the 26th, McLaurin of the 14th, Jones II of the 22nd, Jackson of the
41st, Parent of the 44th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to medical assistance generally, so as to provide for the authorization of
appropriations for the purposes of obtaining federal financial participation for medical
assistance payments to providers of Medicaid expansion under the federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; to
provide for certain restrictions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
medical assistance generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"49-4-142.6.
(a) The department shall authorize appropriations for the purposes of obtaining federal
financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers on behalf of Medicaid
recipients pursuant to this article and funding the state's portion of the cost to expand the
Medicaid program under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
</ins>
<ins>(P.L. 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act
of 2010 (P.L. 111-152), and any regulations or guidelines issued under such acts.
(b) Such appropriations authorization shall not be required in the event the federal
government does not provide a minimum of 90 percent of such funding."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-01-12)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-01-13)
- Sponsors: David Lucas, Josh McLaurin, Harold Jones, Kim Jackson, Elena Parent, Nikki Merritt, Sonya Halpern, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Sally Harrell, RaShaun Kemp, Kenya Wicks, Gail Davenport, Randal Mangham, Jaha Howard, Sheikh Rahman, Ed Harbison, Derek Mallow, Tonya Anderson, Nan Orrock
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72154

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb380.md?full=1