With the first day of the new year, several laws went into effect at midnight of 2024. Here’s what you should know about the new laws and existing laws that have been tweaked.
House Bill 128: Revenue and taxation; representation of minority business enterprises, women and veteran owned businesses in procurement of state contracts
House Bill 128 provides for representation of minority business enterprises, women owned businesses, and veteran owned businesses in the area of procurement of state contracts for construction, services, equipment, and goods; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Catch Act: Consumer Access To Contracted Healthcare
The “Billing Consumer Protection Act” ensures consumers have access to quality healthcare by setting standards for network plans offered by an insurer; to provide for an exemption; to provide for standards for network plans; to prohibit an insurer from denying preauthorization for healthcare services to be performed by a participating provider solely because the referral was made by a nonparticipating provider.
Georgia Mental Health Parity Act
House Bill 1013 requires that health care insurance plans that provide coverage for mental health treatment or substance use disorders do so in accordance with the federal ‘Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.’ Health insurers must also provide an annual comparative analysis report to the insurance commissioner, which will be available on the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire’s (OCI) website. Failure to submit timely reports can result in fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. The commissioner is to ensure compliance with mental health parity requirements among health insurers and establish a process for addressing complaints about mental health parity violations. Insurers that do not comply with mental health parity may face punitive action including monetary penalties, compliance plans, or reprocessing of claims. A mental health parity officer is appointed by the commissioner.
House Bill 175: Prestige License Plates and Special Plates
Relating to prestige license plates and special plates for certain persons and vehicles, so as to provide for the design and issuance of a distinctive license plate for state constitutional 4 officers and members of the Public Service Commission; to provide a definition; to provide for the design of special license plates issued to retired members of the active reserve 6 components and the Georgia National Guard; to establish a specialty license plate honoring Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; to establish a specialty license plate honoring Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
House Bill 453: Ambulance Service Fees
Repeals a requirement that every ambulance service pay an annual license fee; to repeal a requirement that ambulance service annual license fees be deposited into the Indigent Care Trust Fund; to provide for a conforming change; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
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