HB 54: Health; advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to order home healthcare services; authorize

Under current Georgia law, home health services such as skilled nursing, physical therapy, and home health aide visits generally must be ordered under a physician's written plan of care. This bill amends several parts of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to let advanced practice registered nurses (such as nurse practitioners) and physician assistants also order these services, as long as the person ordering the services does not have an ownership interest in the entity receiving the referral. The bill updates definitions of 'home health agency,' 'home healthcare services,' and 'plan of treatment' to include orders from these providers, adds respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as covered services, and requires continuing education on death certificates for physician assistants and certain nurses. It also lets a physician delegate authority to a physician assistant to order home healthcare services and expands a state tax credit for caregiving expenses to cover items deemed medically necessary by these providers, not just physicians.

• Allows advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, not just physicians, to order home healthcare services and sign plans of treatment for home health patients.
• Adds a conflict-of-interest condition barring these providers from ordering home health services for entities in which they hold an ownership interest.
• Expands the legal definition of home healthcare services to include respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as covered service categories.
• Requires physician assistants and certain advanced-practice nurses to complete biennial continuing education on recognizing causes of death and properly completing death certificates.
• Lets a physician delegate to a physician assistant, through a written job description, the specific authority to order home healthcare services (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103).
• Broadens the state's caregiving tax credit (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2) so equipment and supplies can qualify if deemed medically necessary by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, not only a physician.

Advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants gain new authority; home health agencies and their patients who rely on ordered care; registered nurses who administer treatments under these orders; the Department of Community Health, which licenses home health agencies; and Georgia taxpayers claiming the caregiving tax credit.

Patients receiving home health services could get care ordered more quickly if they see a nurse practitioner or physician assistant instead of waiting on a physician's order, potentially easing access in areas with fewer doctors, while new definitions and continuing education rules would apply across home health licensing and tax credit programs.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 16-13-72 to let nurses administer certain intravenous items to home health patients based on orders from a physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, or a physician assistant.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-6-2's definition of 'home health agency' to include care ordered by advanced practice registered nurses or physician assistants, and adds respiratory therapy and skilled nursing care as listed services.
• Section 3 rewrites definitions in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-150, adding formal definitions of 'advanced practice registered nurse' and 'physician assistant' and updating 'home healthcare services' and 'plan of treatment.'
• Section 4 updates O.C.G.A. § 31-7-153 so home health agency supervision standards reference advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants alongside physicians and registered nurses.
• Section 5 updates inspection requirements in O.C.G.A. § 31-7-154 so agencies are checked for compliance with orders from these providers, not just physicians.
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 43-34-23 to require biennial continuing education on death certificates for physician assistants and certain nurses, approved by the relevant licensing board.
• Section 7 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103 letting a physician delegate to a physician assistant the authority to order home healthcare services.
• Section 8 expands the caregiving tax credit definition in O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2 to accept medical necessity determinations from advanced practice registered nurses or physician assistants.

1. 2026-02-10Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senado)
2. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senado)
4. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senado)
5. 2025-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senado)
6. 2025-03-21Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senado)
7. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
8. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)

• David Clark (R, HD-100)Patrocinador principal
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• David Huddleston (R, HD-072)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes6 de marzo de 2025

   177 a favor, 0 en contra (2 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #233

2. RechazadaVotación: Senado2 de abril de 2025

   23 a favor, 30 en contra (2 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Adoption Of Amendment #2 By The Senator From The 41st: Senate Vote #398

3. AprobadaVotación: Senado2 de abril de 2025

   54 a favor, 1 en contra (0 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #399

4. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes4 de abril de 2025

   157 a favor, 0 en contra (11 sin votar, 12 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Sub As Amend By House: House Vote #438

5. AprobadaVotación: Senado10 de febrero de 2026

   30 a favor, 17 en contra (1 sin votar, 6 ausentes)

   Shall The Ruling Of The Chair Be Sustained: Senate Vote #535

6. AprobadaVotación: Senado10 de febrero de 2026

   30 a favor, 18 en contra (1 sin votar, 5 ausentes)

   Adoption Of Amend #1a By Sen From The 19th To Amend #1 By Sen From The 1st: Senate Vote #536

7. AprobadaVotación: Senado10 de febrero de 2026

   30 a favor, 18 en contra (1 sin votar, 5 ausentes)

   Agree To House Amendment To Senate Substitute As Amended: Senate Vote #537

• home healthcare
• nurse practitioners
• physician assistants
• health licensing
• caregiver tax credit