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House passes bill to align Medicaid third‑party payment rules with federal law
Summary
Senate Bill 276 passed the House to bring Georgia into compliance with a federal requirement that prevents primary insurers from denying payment to Medicaid on the sole basis of missing prior authorization. Sponsors said the measure protects Medicaid’s payer‑of‑last‑resort role and increases recoveries from liable third parties.
The Georgia House on March 19 approved Senate Bill 276 to align state Medicaid recovery rules with federal requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.
Representative Gamble presented the bill on the House floor and said the change prevents a primary liable payer (for example, commercial insurance, workers' compensation, or legal settlement proceeds) from refusing payment to Medicaid solely because prior authorization was not obtained first. Gamble said the Department of Community Health requested the legislation to maintain federal compliance and to ensure Medicaid remains the payer of last resort.
“As you know, Medicaid is the payer of last resort and only pays for covered services if there are no other liable third party payers,” Representative Gamble said. He added the bill will help ensure that recoveries from primary sources cannot be unreasonably denied and thus support Medicaid program integrity.
The House approved the bill by recorded vote: yeas 168, nays 2.
Floor debate focused on technical compliance and administrative effect; no appropriations or programmatic changes beyond statutory alignment were discussed on the floor. The sponsor said the change will increase recoveries and uphold Medicaid’s integrity.
Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 276 — Passed, yeas 168, nays 2.
