House Insurance Committee approves substitute to Senate Bill 5 that bundles PANS/PANDAS, prostate-screening and ALS/kidney provisions

The Georgia House Insurance Committee on Friday approved a substitute to Senate Bill 5 that combines existing PANS/PANDAS language with two House bills addressing prostate cancer screening and ALS/kidney/Medicare supplement coverage.

The committee's legislative counsel told members the substitute (LC520855S) will be reorganized into parts so the PANS/PANDAS language remains in part 2, House Bill 373 (LC4610957, prostate screening) will be inserted as a new part, and House Bill 323 (LC461064, ALS and kidney/Medicare supplement) will be added as another part. Counsel said code-section numbers will be adjusted where needed and effective-date language will be set by the committee.

Committee members discussed the mechanics of combining the measures. Representative Hughley said HB373 is intended to “bring more attention” to prostate screening for men with family histories of prostate cancer so screenings may occur earlier than otherwise would be typical. Representative Taylor said she did not have a copy of the prostate-screening bill at the meeting and requested clarification on how it differs from routine screening. Representative Hawkins suggested considering how to package the prostate and ALS bills together but did not press for a change in this meeting.

After the legislative counsel outlined the technical edits (including changing a code section number that is currently in use and inserting appropriate directory and effective-date language), a committee member moved to amend the substitute by adding HB373 and HB323 and moving the substitute's existing part 3 to part 5. The committee approved that amendment by voice vote. The committee then voted to pass the substitute to Senate Bill 5 as amended; the record shows the measure passed on a voice vote.

No roll-call vote or numeric tally was recorded in the transcript. The committee did not adopt final effective-date language in the meeting; legislative counsel said effective-date language will be inserted at the direction of the committee. Members also asked staff to ensure code-section numbering does not conflict with existing law when the parts are renumbered.

The substitute now combines measures the committee has previously reviewed and passed out of committee earlier in the legislative process. The committee chair adjourned the meeting after the vote.