HB 659: Health; rural assistance; expand medical education funding and the service cancelable loan program to include optometrists

Under current Georgia law, medication aides in personal care homes and assisted living communities may administer only insulin, epinephrine, and B12 under physician direction. This bill adds GLP-1 medications, a class of drugs often used for diabetes and weight management, to that approved list in both settings. The bill also expands the state's rural health care workforce program (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 34), which gives service cancelable loans and recruitment grants to health professionals who agree to practice in underserved rural areas of Georgia. Currently the program covers physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses. The bill adds optometrists to every part of that program, including loan eligibility, priority criteria, grant purposes, and the criteria used to define an underserved rural area. It also fixes minor wording in the loan qualification rules. The changes take effect once signed into law.

• Adds GLP-1 medications to the list of drugs medication aides may administer to residents of personal care homes under physician direction (O.C.G.A. § 31-7-12).
• Makes the identical GLP-1 addition for assisted living community medication aides (O.C.G.A. § 31-34-12.2).
• Adds optometrists as an eligible profession under Georgia's rural health care service cancelable loan program (O.C.G.A. § 31-34-2 and § 31-34-4).
• Allows hospitals, health care entities, local governments, and civic organizations to use recruitment grant funds to help bring optometrists to underserved rural areas (O.C.G.A. § 31-34-4.1).
• Includes optometrists in the criteria the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce uses to determine which rural areas are considered underserved (O.C.G.A. § 31-34-5).

Residents of personal care homes and assisted living communities and the medication aides who care for them; optometrists and optometry graduates seeking loan repayment or recruitment support; and hospitals, local governments, and civic organizations in rural Georgia that participate in the recruitment grant program.

Residents in personal care and assisted living settings who use GLP-1 medications could now have them administered on-site by trained aides instead of needing outside help. Optometrists in rural Georgia would gain access to loan forgiveness and recruitment incentives previously limited to physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, potentially improving eye care access in underserved areas.

• Section 1 and Section 2 add GLP-1 to the approved medication list for personal care home and assisted living medication aides.
• Section 3 revises the purpose statement of the rural assistance loan program to include optometrists among the professions it aims to recruit.
• Section 4 adds optometrists to the loan applicant qualification and priority criteria sections.
• Section 5 allows grant funds to support recruiting and retaining optometrists in underserved rural areas, alongside the existing professions.
• Section 6 adds optometrists throughout the service cancelable loan rules, including loan terms, repayment through rural practice, and the statistical criteria used to define underserved rural areas.
• Section 7 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-05Act 385
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2026-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senado)
7. 2026-03-31Senate Third Read (Senado)
8. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senado)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Patrocinador principal
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes2 de febrero de 2026

   166 a favor, 2 en contra (2 sin votar, 5 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #469

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado31 de marzo de 2026

   46 a favor, 0 en contra (1 sin votar, 7 ausentes)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #900

3. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes2 de abril de 2026

   164 a favor, 8 en contra (1 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Amendment: House Vote #840

• rural health care
• optometry
• assisted living facilities
• personal care homes
• medical loan repayment