HB951: HB951 Insurance; require health benefit policy coverage for medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices and their materials and components

Georgia law already requires most health insurance policies to cover medically necessary orthotic devices (like braces) and prosthetic devices (like artificial limbs), along with their materials and components, under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.35. But that law currently excludes health plans the state itself provides to state employees, public school teachers and staff, and University System of Georgia employees and retirees, as well as Medicaid managed care contracts and self-funded employer plans governed by federal ERISA law. House Bill 951 changes the timing of that exclusion for the state employee, teacher, and university plans. It rewrites the definition of "health benefit policy" so that the exclusion for those state-run plans only applies starting January 1, 2027. That means from whenever the bill is signed into law until that date, those state plans would fall under the coverage mandate and would have to cover medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices; after January 1, 2027, the exclusion resumes and the mandate would no longer apply to them. The Medicaid and ERISA exclusions are unchanged. The bill takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or otherwise becoming law.

• Rewrites the definition of "health benefit policy" in Georgia's orthotic and prosthetic device coverage law (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.35) to delay when state employee, teacher, and university plans are excluded from the coverage mandate.
• Makes state employee, public school employee, and Board of Regents health plans subject to the orthotic and prosthetic device coverage requirement until January 1, 2027.
• Restores the exclusion for those state-run plans starting January 1, 2027, after which they would no longer be required to cover these devices under this law.
• Leaves unchanged the existing exclusions for Medicaid managed care contracts with the Department of Community Health and for self-funded employer health plans governed by federal ERISA law.
• Sets the effective date as immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon the bill otherwise becoming law.

State employees, public school teachers and staff, and Board of Regents employees, retirees, and dependents who get health coverage through state-administered plans; the Department of Community Health, which oversees Medicaid contracts; and insurers that issue health benefit policies covering orthotic and prosthetic devices in Georgia.

People on state employee, teacher, or university health plans who need braces, artificial limbs, or similar devices would be guaranteed coverage for those devices for a period of time, but that guarantee would end on January 1, 2027, when the plans revert to being excluded from the requirement.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 33-24-59.35(a)(3), which defines "health benefit policy" for purposes of the orthotic and prosthetic device coverage mandate.
• The revised definition delays the exclusion of state employee, public school employee, and Board of Regents health plans from the mandate until January 1, 2027.
• The revision leaves in place the separate exclusions for Medicaid managed care contracts with the Department of Community Health and for self-funded ERISA employer plans.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon the bill becoming law without signature.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-06House Passed/Adopted (House)
3. 2026-03-06House Third Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
5. 2026-01-15House Second Readers (House)
6. 2026-01-14House First Readers (House)
7. 2026-01-13House Hopper (House)

• David Clark (R, HD-100)Primary sponsor
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Steven Sainz (R, HD-180)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   163 yea, 2 nay (4 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #671

• health insurance coverage
• orthotic and prosthetic devices
• state employee benefits
• teacher health insurance
• Medicaid