Georgia CommonsHR1155: HR1155 Georgia PAD Screening and Amputation Prevention Act; state-wide support for passage; urge
Last action February 3, 2026 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House resolution urges statewide support for a future law called the Georgia PAD Screening and Amputation Prevention Act, which would create state programs and insurance coverage rules aimed at preventing amputations from peripheral artery disease.
In plain language
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) narrows or blocks arteries, mostly in the legs, and can lead to amputation, heart attack, stroke, or death if untreated. This resolution describes PAD as widely underdiagnosed and notes that nearly half of people 65 and older who lose a limb to PAD die within a year of the amputation. Rather than changing any Georgia law itself, this resolution formally urges statewide support for passage of a separate bill, the Georgia PAD Screening and Amputation Prevention Act, which would set up state agency programs (such as a patient registry, public awareness campaigns, training grants, and facility incentives) and require health insurance coverage of certain PAD screenings and treatments. The resolution directs the House Clerk to send copies to the Governor, the Commissioner of Insurance, and the commissioners of public health and community health.
What the bill does
- Formally urges statewide support for passage of the separate 'Georgia PAD Screening and Amputation Prevention Act.'
- Describes the future act's goals as establishing state agency programs and healthcare coverage requirements to prevent or reduce PAD-related amputations.
- Directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Commissioner of Insurance, and the commissioners of public health and community health.
- Does not itself create any new agency program, coverage mandate, or funding; it only expresses support for future legislation.
Who it affects
The resolution names the Governor, the Commissioner of Insurance, the commissioner of public health, and the commissioner of community health as recipients, and its underlying cause concerns people with or at risk of peripheral artery disease, particularly older adults, people with diabetes, smokers, and people with high blood pressure or kidney disease.
Why it matters
Because this is a resolution, it carries no legal force on its own and changes no Georgia law or insurance requirement. Its practical effect is to put the General Assembly's support on record for a future bill that could add PAD screening coverage mandates and state health programs.
Key provisions
- The whereas clauses describe PAD's health risks, including its link to amputation, heart attack, stroke, and death, and cite that 10 to 12 million U.S. adults have the condition.
- The resolved clause states the House urges statewide support for passage of the 'Georgia PAD Screening and Amputation Prevention Act.'
- The described future act would establish state agency programs and healthcare coverage requirements to prevent or reduce PAD-related amputations.
- The final clause directs the Clerk of the House to send copies to the Governor and three named state health and insurance officials.
From the bill
“Urging state-wide support for passage of the "Georgia PAD Scree ning and Amputation1 Prevention Act," to establish state agency programs and healthcare coverage requirements2 to prevent or reduce amputations due to peripheral artery disease”
“nearly half of the people 65 years of age and older who had a limb amputated12 because of PAD died within a year of surgery”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
- Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
- Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
- Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
- Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
Topics
- peripheral artery disease
- amputation prevention
- health insurance coverage
- public health
- medical screening