---
title: SR 201. Governor Brian Kemp; include full-time care givers for the elderly, sick, and disabled in the Georgia Pathways expansion; urge
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr201
cite_as: SR 201, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr201
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr201.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr201/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70438
date: 2025-02-19
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/sr200.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr202.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr201.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 201
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-02-18
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Sally Harrell
  - Drew Echols
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR201/2025
upstream_id: 1974384
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Medicaid expansion
  - Georgia Pathways to Coverage
  - family caregivers
  - health care access
---

# SR 201. Governor Brian Kemp; include full-time care givers for the elderly, sick, and disabled in the Georgia Pathways expansion; urge

## Text

Senate Resolution 201
By: Senators Harrell of the 40th and Echols of the 49th
A RESOLUTION
Urging Governor Brian Kemp to include full-time care givers for the elderly, sick, and
disabled in the Georgia Pathways expansion; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, over 1 million Georgians are family care givers who provide regular, unpaid
care to parents, spouses, and others who are elderly, have a chronic health condition, and/or
are living with a disability; and
WHEREAS, the economic value of that unpaid care is estimated to be over $16 billion in
Georgia alone; and
WHEREAS, family care givers in low-income communities can help prevent or delay the
need for more costly Medicaid services, such as a hospital or nursing home stay, for those
they care for and thus provide significant support to the state's Medicaid program; and
WHEREAS, low-income family care givers are less likely to have access to high-quality,
affordable health care coverage, and about one-third report having neglected their own health
care due to their care giving responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, adding family care giving for an adult relative as a qualifying activity under the
Pathways to Coverage program could increase program enrollment and help ensure
low-income family care givers get the health care that they need so that they can focus on
their care giving responsibilities, which decrease the burden of more high-need and costly
Medicaid enrollees on the state budget.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body
urge Governor Brian Kemp to include full-time care givers for the elderly, sick, and disabled
in the Georgia Pathways expansion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the
press.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

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

A Georgia Senate resolution urges Governor Brian Kemp to expand the Georgia Pathways to Coverage Medicaid program so it counts full-time family care giving as a qualifying work activity.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's Pathways to Coverage program offers Medicaid coverage to low-income adults who meet certain work or activity requirements, such as having a job, going to school, or volunteering. This resolution does not change that requirement itself. Instead, it formally urges Governor Brian Kemp to add full-time care giving for elderly, sick, or disabled family members as one of the activities that qualifies someone for Pathways coverage.
The resolution cites estimates that more than a million Georgians provide unpaid care to relatives, work valued at over $16 billion statewide, and notes that many of these caregivers lack health coverage themselves. It argues that letting caregivers qualify for Pathways could improve their access to health care and reduce costlier Medicaid use, such as hospital or nursing home stays, among the people they care for. As a resolution, it carries no binding legal effect and simply directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies to the public and press.

### What it does

- Formally urges Governor Brian Kemp to add full-time family care giving as a qualifying activity under the Georgia Pathways to Coverage Medicaid program.
- States the Senate's position through non-binding resolution language rather than changing any statute or regulation.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies available to the public and the press.
- Does not itself alter eligibility rules, funding, or enrollment procedures for Pathways to Coverage.

### Who it affects

Family caregivers who provide unpaid care to elderly, sick, or disabled relatives, especially those in low-income households; the elderly, sick, and disabled Georgians they care for; and the state Medicaid program administered through Georgia Pathways to Coverage, along with Governor Kemp's office, which would decide whether to act on the request.

### Why it matters

If the Governor were to act on this request, full-time family caregivers could gain a new path to Medicaid coverage without needing a separate job, potentially improving their own health care access while they care for relatives, though the resolution itself makes no legal change and only expresses the Senate's wish.

### Key provisions

- The resolution's whereas clauses cite over 1 million Georgia family caregivers and estimate the unpaid care they provide is worth more than $16 billion statewide.
- The operative resolving clause urges Governor Kemp to include full-time caregivers for the elderly, sick, and disabled in the Georgia Pathways expansion.
- A further resolving clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and the press.
- As a resolution rather than a bill, it creates no enforceable requirement and amends no section of Georgia law.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-18)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-19)
- Sponsors: Sally Harrell, Drew Echols
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70438

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr201.md?full=1