Committee hears sickle cell review bill, holds HB 334 to consult with Medicaid (DCH)

Representative (speaker 14) presented House Bill 334 (LC570194), a bill directing Georgia Medicaid to conduct an annual review of medications, services and treatments available for people with sickle cell disease to determine adequacy of coverage and recommend potential additions.

The sponsor said about 10,000 Georgians are affected by sickle cell and noted Tennessee and about 17 other states have enacted similar legislation or provisions. Members praised the bill as timely and appropriate given historically limited research and resources for sickle cell care; witnesses and lawmakers cited new therapies, including gene-editing approaches such as CRISPR, as part of the rationale for systematic review.

Several committee members asked whether the Department of Community Health (DCH) had been consulted and whether DCH already performs related reviews (such as drug utilization reviews). The sponsor said she had previous communications with the department but not recently; one member noted DCH has an existing mechanism for drug-utilization review and suggested the committee could use that capacity to focus specifically on sickle cell therapies.

The chair decided to hold HB 334 until next week so the sponsor and staff can meet with DCH and report back with departmental input; the sponsor agreed. The chair said she wanted to be able to tell rules that the committee worked with the department before forwarding the bill. The committee adjourned after the decision to hold the bill.

The measure was not advanced at the hearing; further discussion and possible amendments were scheduled after consultation with DCH.