HB 1480: Georgia Medicare for All Act; enact

This bill would set up the Georgia Medicare for All Program, a state-run health insurance system meant to automatically cover every Georgia resident regardless of immigration status, with no premiums, copays, or deductibles for covered care. A new Georgia Medicare for All Board, made up of gubernatorial, Senate, and House appointees plus advisory committees, would design benefits, set payment rates for doctors and hospitals, negotiate with the federal government for funding, and run a new Georgia Medicare for All Trust Fund. Covered benefits are broad, including dental, vision, mental health, long-term care, reproductive care, and gender-affirming care. The bill also repeals several existing Georgia laws: the 2014 law barring Medicaid expansion without legislative approval, 2023 restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, and major portions of the state's abortion laws (replacing the 'Woman's Right to Know Act' with a new 'Reproductive Freedom Act' establishing a right to abortion and contraception). The single-payer program only takes effect once the legislature specifically appropriates funding for it; the repeal provisions take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature.

• Creates the Georgia Medicare for All Program to provide free, comprehensive health coverage automatically to all Georgia residents, funded through a new state trust fund.
• Establishes a Georgia Medicare for All Board and four advisory committees to design benefits, approve healthcare providers and care coordinators, and set payment rates.
• Bars private insurers from selling plans that duplicate program benefits once the program is implemented, with limited exceptions for out-of-state workers.
• Repeals the 2014 law that blocked Medicaid expansion in Georgia without legislative approval.
• Repeals Georgia's 2023 restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and requires the state Medicaid program to cover abortion services.
• Replaces the 'Woman's Right to Know Act' with a new 'Reproductive Freedom Act' declaring a fundamental right to abortion, contraception, and sterilization, and removes fetal personhood language from several existing statutes.

All Georgia residents seeking healthcare, current Medicaid and PeachCare recipients, private health insurers, hospitals and healthcare providers, state employees on the state health benefit plan, workers' compensation participants, transgender minors and their families, and anyone seeking abortion or reproductive care in Georgia.

If funded and implemented, Georgians would no longer need private insurance or pay premiums or copays for a wide range of medical, dental, vision, and long-term care services. The bill would also reverse Georgia's current restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and abortion, changing legal protections and access for those seeking such care.

• Section 2-1 creates a new Article 10 in Title 49 (O.C.G.A. §§ 49-4-200 to 49-4-221) establishing the program, board, advisory committees, enrollment rules, covered benefits, and provider payment methods.
• O.C.G.A. § 49-4-207 requires the board to fully establish the program by July 1, 2029, and lets the board set transition and implementation periods.
• O.C.G.A. § 49-4-211 automatically enrolls every Georgia resident with no fees, premiums, copays, or deductibles for covered benefits.
• O.C.G.A. § 49-4-210 bars law enforcement from using program funds, property, or information to investigate immigration status violations.
• Section 6-1 makes the single-payer program (Part II) effective only once the General Assembly passes a specific budget line item funding it, while the repeal provisions (Parts I, III, IV, V, VI) take effect upon the Governor's signature.
• Part III replaces the 'Woman's Right to Know Act' with a new 'Reproductive Freedom Act' (O.C.G.A. §§ 31-9A-1 to 31-9A-8) declaring a right to abortion and contraception and barring state prosecution for abortion-related outcomes.
• Part IV repeals Georgia's 2023 law restricting gender-affirming surgical and hormone treatments for minors and the 2014 anti-Medicaid-expansion law.
• Part V removes fetal personhood definitions and heartbeat-based restrictions from multiple Georgia code sections covering child support, wrongful death, tax dependents, and parental notification for minors seeking abortions.

1. 2026-03-04House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-03-03House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-02-26House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)Patrocinador principal
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)
• Angela Moore (D, HD-091)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)

• single-payer healthcare
• Medicaid expansion
• abortion rights
• gender-affirming care
• health insurance reform