House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee, February 25, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1167887105 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1167887105#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-02-25/house-budget-and-fiscal-affairs-oversight This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:13:48] Okay. We, uh, [0:13:52] we're gonna get started here. And, uh, it's 9:01. Um, got a busy day. We wanna hear this important bill. It's important to, uh, everybody in the state of Georgia, I think. And, uh, this is something that a lot of people worked on, including, uh, Matt Hatchett and, uh, Representative Kelley. So, um, Vance Smith, would you open us in a word of prayer? [0:14:20] I'd be, I'd be glad to, Mr. Chairman. God, we do thank you for the, all the blessings you've given us, and we ask that you be with us. Lead, guide, and direct us, and help us to follow your will as we work for the citizens of Georgia. And we ask that you be with our families back home, our children, and our grandchildren. Take care of them. Keep them safe. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. [0:14:42] Amen. [0:14:42] Thank you, sir. Uh, Representative Kelley, if you will, um, you can go to the podium or the table and tell us what LC number you're working off of, and present your bill. [0:15:13] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to start our mornings together. Uh, I am here to present House Bill 1354, which y'all had the opportunity to hear yesterday in committee. And I'm bringing a substitute, LC521060S. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to send that to you around 8:00 last night, and, uh, for you distributing that to the, uh, committee members so that everybody would have an opportunity to review it before we got here. [0:15:46] Uh, briefly, as I mentioned yesterday, House Bill 1354 tries to address two problems in our state. Uh, the first problem is streamlining the process for which our m- healthcare providers get credentialed, uh, with our private health plans. Uh, this is an issue that I've heard from many healthcare providers as it relates to them finishing up their education, passing their boards, uh, and, and then still trying to make it where they can effe- uh, effectively practice medicine by having, uh, payers, uh, in their system, uh, for their patients. [0:16:21] Uh, right now the process is complicated and burdensome and drags out. That prevents patients getting care in Georgia. The second problem we are trying to address is by encouraging more healthcare providers to be on our Medicaid rolls. That's one thing that we hear regularly, is that we don't have enough providers that are willing to provide Medicaid services that are needed for our, some of our most vulnerable populations. Uh, in this legislation, we would streamline the process for healthcare providers by getting on the private healthcare plans by, uh, having them credential themselves through a uniform process through DCH and Medicaid. [0:17:01] By doing that, uh, we're not only going to encourage more providers to be on Medicaid, but we're also going to streamline and create a more efficient process for our healthcare providers to provide care to our patients. Uh, since we've left, Mr. Chairman, I've worked with our providers as well as those, uh, in our health insurance industry. Uh, I want this to be something that works. Uh, and it is something that I think is important. And so we worked, uh, with all interested parties to come up with an opportunity, uh, and the language that we have come up with is before you. [0:17:40] Uh, it would say that the Department of Community Health and the Department of Insurance shall coordinate together to create a standardized credentialing process, both for our Medicaid and our state, uh, and the health plans that are operating in our state. The act would become effective on July 1. We're gonna give the departments the opportunity to draft some rules and regulations. Uh, and we are putting a timeline on them so it doesn't drag. So they would have to do that by January 1. And once those rules and regs are developed, we ask that this full system be, uh, up and running no later than July 1st, 2027. [0:18:17] Mr. Chairman, that is the bill. I'll be glad to stand for any questions, or sit for any questions, I should say. [0:18:23] It's, uh, number 29. [0:18:28] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Representative Kelley, did I just hear you say that you want more healthcare providers on Medicaid? Is that what you just said? [0:18:37] I want more healthcare providers to be able to provide Medicaid services. We have a Medicaid population in our state that needs to be served, and they should, uh, we need more providers that can provide that care. And I think that that is an incentive. It's not forcing anyone to do that, but it is allowing an opportunity should they want to move through this credentialing process. The provider can submit, uh, the Medicaid credentialing process, which will then allow them access to this expedited credentialing process through our private health plans. [0:19:10] May I have a follow-up? So when you're talking about credentialing, are you talking about persons that are in social work? Um, could you be specific about who you're talking about, please? [0:19:20] I'm being specific with any kind of healthcare provider, whether that's a cardiovascular doctor, uh, whether that's a dentist, uh, whether that is a primary care doctor or a family, uh, medicine pediatrician, uh, that is who I'm, I'm talking about here. Um, we, we know that, that, that some doctors, some medical providers have made the decision to not credential with Medicaid because that doesn't fit their business model. That's fine. That's acceptable. If doctors and medical providers wanna make that decision, that's their right to do so. [0:19:52] Uh, but we also know that there are pockets of our state where we don't have providers that are even eligible to provide that care to our aged, blind, disabled populations, and we need them to do that. And so by offering them a carrot instead of a stick, I'm hoping that we can, uh, both get more medical providers to serve our private pay population through our private health plans while also meeting a need that we do have in our state for our Medicaid population. [0:20:24] Thank you. [0:20:24] Thank you for the question. [0:20:26] Do, do we have any other questions? [0:20:32] Number 26. Okay, Mr. Chairman, at the proper time. Okay. Is there ... Or does, does anybody else have a question? Uh, as I read this, I, uh, I appreciate you bringing this bill and I, I think it's important and I'm reminded of the streamlining the process, whether it be, uh, licensing through, uh, whoever, secretary of state or the boards. We get, we've gotten a lot of calls and I hope this will help that along. I know we're sort of a little bit different subject, but, uh, uh, I've got a rash of calls that, especially in, uh, RNs and anybody, anybody in the medical field that, uh ... [0:21:13] And I hope that even something like this is, is, that will, will, uh, streamline some of that. It may not. [0:21:19] I- [0:21:19] But I appreciate you bringing it, sir. [0:21:22] I appreciate that, Mr. Chairman. That, that, that is, you know, part of the process. You know, for a medical provider, they go through their regular, you know, post-secondary education. [0:21:33] Yeah. [0:21:33] Then they have to get their licensing through the state, and then they have to get to the point of getting paid for the services they provide. [0:21:39] But I literally, I literally talked to people who've been licensed for 18, 19 years and have not worked since November, and it w- it's a sad situation. I thank you. Uh, no further questions. I'll accept that motion. Motion do pass. Se- Do we have a second? All in favor of passing the bill, say aye. [0:22:01] Aye. [0:22:01] Aye. All opposed? Do pass. [0:22:06] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the- [0:22:08] I appreciate, I appreciate it. I appreciate you coming this in, right at 9:00 and it, it affects the, everything you got going today, and I appreciate the committee. Thank you, sir. [0:22:17] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:22:22] Thank y'all. [0:22:37] Sir? [0:22:37] Yes, sir. [0:22:37] I appreciate your comments and, and willing to [0:22:43] ... You did, you did a lot of great stuff for, for this week, and we appreciate that