Gov. Kemp signs healthcare bills, includes welfare for pregnant Georgia moms

GEORGIA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of bills into law Tuesday, changing certain healthcare systems and providing more support for mothers in the state.

Together, the bills signed Tuesday would expand eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding to pregnant Georgia moms as soon as conception.

The bills will also provide funding and requirements to test pregnant mothers for HIV and syphilis up to three times during their pregnancy, create a three-year test program for rural healthcare for mothers in Georgia and add to protections to prevent surprise medical billing of Georgians.

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Regarding the expansion of eligibility for TANF, House Bill 129 opens up Georgia’s welfare programs, allowing pregnant mothers to receive funds once pregnant to pay for general needs and other financial assistance.

While federally, this was already allowed, states’ management of welfare eligibility started in the 1990s through the Personal Responsibility and Opportunity to Work Act, which gave individual states the right to restrict or expand its program requirements. As a result, Georgia will now expand who may benefit from the funding program to let pregnant mothers receive more direct financial assistance through TANF programs.

Another bill signed into law by the governor alongside the other related legislation, House Bill 85, would require insurance providers to give their customers coverage for biomarker testing, though it requires that the testing be supported by evidence from medical and scientific research and study.

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The bills signed by Kemp to address health outcomes across Georgia, another sets up a three-year pilot program for telehealth care of rural communities, specifically aimed at helping improve birth outcomes and reducing preterm deliveries and maternal mortality. As of 2016, the most recent data available, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Georgia had a maternal mortality rate of 16.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Additionally, Kemp signed a bill that would add penalties for those who attack healthcare workers in the state.

Among the legislation signed, SB 65 creates a Georgia-based insurance market, allowing the state to manage healthcare coverage enrollments for Georgians, though the bill will still require that the providers are federally approved.

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A final health-related bill signed by Kemp was SB 223, which allows for patients to be reimbursed for what they spend on treatments in clinical trials for cancer therapies.

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